Sony PlayStations used in Astrophysics Research

[-Messi-]

Dr. Gaurav Khanna and Mr. Glenn Volkema of the Physics department have built a small supercomputer using eight (8) Sony PlayStations 3 gaming consoles. The PS3 has a number of unique features that make it particularly suited for scientific computation. Most significantly, it has a revolutionary processor, called the Cell processor that is often dubbed as a 'supercomputer-on-a-chip". Dr. Khanna will use this PS3 cluster for his astrophysics research relating to the emission of gravitational waves from a supermassive black hole. Supermassive black holes, that often weigh more than a million times the mass of our Sun, commonly lurk at the center of most galaxies. The upcoming NASA/ESA LISA Mission will observe the capture of small stars by such a black hole and therefore it is important to have a theoretical understanding of such events today.

This PS3 cluster was made possible thanks to a generous donation by Sony. To find out more about this cluster and associated research, please visit: http://gravity.phy.umassd.edu/

http://www.umassd.edu/engineering/coe/news_events/news_article.cfm?article=1559

 

[SpeedDragon]

Isto é mau negócio para a sony, pois a sony quer vender consolas para as pessoas comprarem jogos para as consolas e não para ir buscar "hardware barato" ...