Re:Microsoft's underwater data centre resurfaces after two y...
by jacquesm on Tuesday September 15, 2020 @04:58AM
(#24479216)
Solar panels don't work on IR, they work on visible light.
IR might be reflected or absorbed.
The visible component is absorbed. Whether it would have turned into heat or reflected back in to space is about a 1 in two chance.
Re:Microsoft's underwater data centre resurfaces after two y...
by ithkuil on Wednesday September 16, 2020 @04:29AM
(#24490683)
sorry I don't understand the comment; visible light carries energy too and thus can heat materials it hits. what happens to the IR part of the spectrum is irrelevant and can be captured by the general concept of "color of the object", defined as the spectrum of reflected vs absorbed EM radiation
If you think that's silly (and rightfully so), then perhaps that can sharpen your intuition on how insignificant is the total amount of heat produced by our devices (even if cumulatively they are a big looking number); the total amount of radiation that comes from the sun down to earth is staggering.