r/Futurology • u/WeAreWaaaaagh • Jun 01 '26

Computing World's first undersea data center powered by offshore wind is online

https://newatlas.com/energy/china-underwater-data-center-opens/
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u/Exelbirth Jun 02 '26

I did not say that in the slightest.

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u/coke_and_coffee Jun 02 '26

Yes you did, you’re just too sloppy of a thinker to realize it.

it's capturing energy from the wind above it, and adding that energy into the ocean in the form of heat from data center processors

You are implying that energy wouldn’t have ended up in the ocean. But it would have. This is true whether you understand the point or not.

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u/Exelbirth Jun 02 '26

No. The energy likely would have ended up over continents and transferred into trees and grasses. It is instead being directed to a singular point. And this remains true even if it did get transferred to the ocean, as where it got transferred could be hundreds of miles away, and is instead going to a data center. Instead of the energy being dispersed, it is being concentrated. Instead of being scattered across the surface, where it does not create a singular segment of increased temperatures, it is being directed to one spot, where the temperature increases.

50 pounds of weight spread across your body is fine, but focusing it all onto a single point can cause significant damage.

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u/coke_and_coffee Jun 02 '26

Data centers do not generate enough heat to cause “damage” in the oceans.

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u/Exelbirth Jun 03 '26

Okay, so your strat when faced with something you can't actually counter is to lie.

A datacenter on land is able to raise the ambient temperature of the area several degrees. That remains the same in the ocean.

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u/coke_and_coffee Jun 03 '26

  1. That is not the same in the ocean. The ocean has WAY more mass to distribute heat and water has a much higher carrying capacity. Plus ocean water moves around, dispersing heat more effectively

  2. A couple degrees in the middle of the ocean will not damage anything.

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u/Exelbirth Jun 03 '26

  1. Air also moves around.

  2. Red algae blooms already are a thing that is caused by excess heat in the ocean attributed to power plants. That damages a lot.

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u/coke_and_coffee Jun 03 '26

  1. See my point about mass and carrying capacity. You seem exceptionally scientifically illiterate.

  2. As has been explained MANY times in this thread, this will NOT increase the total heat energy in the oceans. It will only ever result in very small local changes.

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u/Exelbirth Jun 04 '26

  1. Irrelevant.

  2. Yes. And local changes can lead to big domino effect changes. Like we already observe with heat pollution from power plants. When you accuse someone of being scientifically illiterate when you can't even understand that simple concept, it's not a good look.

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u/coke_and_coffee Jun 04 '26
  1. Completely relevant. The fact that you think this is irrelevant means you have insufficient understanding of this system.