Earlier quoted context omitted.
So I take it you’re a marine engineer or similar?
No, but I did have my father check the maths and he built oil rigs for 30 years.
Can you share your work?
Trust but verify
Atomarine: Nuclear Data Centers at Sea
61–70 of 82 posts
Re: Atomarine: Nuclear Data Centers at Sea
#62Wasn't there a Microsoft idea to build data centres in shipping containers a few years ago, again using the ocean for cooling? What happened to that? Given the expense of the latest AI chips, or just the RAM for them, the price of land, cooling and power is not top of the expenses bill, so all talk of sea-based or space-based data centres has to be regarded as having jumped the shark. As of yet I have not seen the us…
>Microsoft idea to build data centres in shipping containers a few years ago, again using the ocean for cooling
Project Natnick!
It was a success, the research concluded and it is no longer active.
Article: https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/sustainability/pr...
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Natick
In June, China opened a $236 M wind powered underwater data center. Article references another commercial underwater data center they opened in 2023.
https://www.wired.com/story/china-opens-worlds-first-wind-po...
Re: Atomarine: Nuclear Data Centers at Sea
#63Re: Atomarine: Nuclear Data Centers at Sea
#64Wasn't there a Microsoft idea to build data centres in shipping containers a few years ago, again using the ocean for cooling? What happened to that? Given the expense of the latest AI chips, or just the RAM for them, the price of land, cooling and power is not top of the expenses bill, so all talk of sea-based or space-based data centres has to be regarded as having jumped the shark. As of yet I have not seen the us…
>Microsoft idea to build data centres in shipping containers a few years ago, again using the ocean for cooling Project Natnick! It was a success, the research concluded and it is no longer active. Article: https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/sustainability/pr... Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Natick In June, China opened a $236 M wind powered underwater data center. Article references another com…
It was a success? then why it not scaled up instead of shut down
Re: Atomarine: Nuclear Data Centers at Sea
#65[deleted]
Re: Atomarine: Nuclear Data Centers at Sea
#66This is a really ambitious and difficult idea. It would be awesome if they can pull it off!
Since most people live near a coast this could power more than just data centers.
Re: Atomarine: Nuclear Data Centers at Sea
#67Current nuclear-powered ships are run by the world’s premier naval powers and protected by their own stealth or a huge array of armed escort ships. Have these guys factored in the cost of a task force of protective missile frigates, subs, and destroyers at each site?
Nuclear submarines often operate without any escort. Russian nuclear icebreakers and floating SMRs also do not have heavy military escorts.
> Nuclear submarines often operate without any escort.
Correct. That's where the GPs comment regarding stealth comes into play.
Re: Atomarine: Nuclear Data Centers at Sea
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Up next: nuclear data center Zeppelins in the cloud! Innovative new air cooling: instead of using lots of tiny fans to move air through the servers, we simply use 2 big fans to move the servers through the air! And while we're at it, we'll completely disrupt the existing Zeppelin market that depends on expensive helium for some reason. We use daring, innovative hydrogen technology, enabling a massive cost reduction!
the term zeppelins needs to be used more often. love this idea, where do i mail my money to invest!!!!!
This is future technology my friend. They only accept payments in crypto, tulips or SpaceX stock.
Re: Atomarine: Nuclear Data Centers at Sea
#69See panthalassa as an alternative
Re: Atomarine: Nuclear Data Centers at Sea
#70Am I the one who's out of touch, or is this absolutely insane? Let me summarize the state of the AI black hole right now:
Data centers! Everyone wants more data centers! But how do I get in on the craze? I think the brightest investors of our generation are hungry for data centers placed in weird places. Space data centers, underwater data centers, data centers in the Earth's core and on a space elevator! I got it - sea data centers! Now, to make this idea not sound crazy, we'll just pretend there's literally not a single shred of buildable land on the entire planet. So now we've established that land data centers suck, all we need to do is to figure out the easy parts, such as shipbuilding, propulsion, creating our own power grid (no worries, we'll just pretend that designing, building, maintaining and scaling a state of the art nuclear reactor at sea is easier than building a power line on land or even just constructing a normal land power plant), repairs, staffing, scaling construction (got to make building ships cheaper than a warehouse) and about a billion other things. I think we'll just try to think of the smallest numbers we can, no one will check. Oh, and since that nuclear thing is so hard, we'll actually just get tons of fossil fuels instead and pollute away in international waters, we promise we'll switch to that miracle nuclear mega reactor we're building! Now all that's left is to AI generate us some text, AI generate some images, AI generate us a website and that's it! YC26 baby!
Did I get that right? This is like investing into a perpetual motion machine on Kickstarter level crazy. Am I still living on the same planet?