Microsoft's underwater data centre resurfaces after two years

Re:Microsoft's underwater data centre resurfaces after two y... by falcolas on Monday September 14, 2020 @12:49PM (#24472293)

> the only way it leaves the planet is by black body radiation

But, if you're heating the oceans, you're putting an entire other mass (the atmosphere) between yourself and space. So you're heating the water, the water is heating the atmosphere, and the atmosphere is radiating that into space. It's adding a step to the overall cooling process.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Microsoft's underwater data centre resurfaces after two y... by rbanffy on Monday September 14, 2020 @01:51PM (#24473017)

OTOH, if these are passively cooled, you are not dumping the waste heat of the HVAC systems, as well as the power user to keep them running.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Microsoft's underwater data centre resurfaces after two y... by bananabreakfast on Monday September 14, 2020 @02:52PM (#24473695)

That's not really how it works. The land and ocean radiate their energy directly into space.

This works through emitting mostly infrared frequency light for which, just like visible light, the atmosphere is mostly transparent.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Microsoft's underwater data centre resurfaces after two y... by falcolas on Monday September 14, 2020 @03:38PM (#24474214)

However, water can also transfer heat to the atmosphere via conduction, evaporation, etc. I don't know the comparative rates, but there is certainly a lot of evaporation.

[ Parent | on HN ]