PlayStation 3 tackles black hole vibrations

[Cyorg]

PlayStation 3 tackles black hole vibrations
Consoles capable of running simulations that rival supercomputer


When black holes are perturbed, they vibrate somewhat like a ringing bell. Now astronomers have narrowed down the rotational speed at which that vibration should stop.

As is typical, they did it out by running a simulation. But instead of a supercomputer, they used a batch of Sony PlayStation 3 gaming consoles wired together.

The so-called PS3 Gravity Grid, a network of 16 PlayStation 3 consoles grouped together in a cluster capable of running simulations that rival a dedicated supercomputer at a much lower cost.

"You can get a supercomputer's capability with relatively little money," Lior Burko of the University of Alabama, Huntsville, who led the black hole study, said in an interview.

Rather than renting computer time on a supercomputer that could cost $5,000 per simulation, Burko and his colleagues used the PS3 Gravity Grid built by Gaurav Khanna, a physics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

The cluster can be built for around $6,000, and allows simulations to be repeated at no extra cost. The system is tailored to simulations that require massive amounts of computations, but relatively little RAM memory.

Burko and Khanna used the PS3 Gravity Grid to run simulations that resolved an ongoing dispute over the speed at which spinning black holes stop vibrating just after forming or being perturbed by an outside object. One theory held that the black holes go silent at relatively fast speeds, while another theory contended they went quiet at slower speeds.

According to the new simulations, the gravity wave vibrations from a spinning black hole that's been perturbed would settle out according to the faster of the two theories, though the actual speed will vary, Burko said.

"It depends on the mass of the black hole," he added. "Let's say you're in a spaceship orbiting the black hole and the black hole is perturbed. Then you need to wait a shorter time for the vibrations to settle to a certain amplitude."

The phenomena, Burko said, can be compared to a ringing bell.

"A bell rings, but eventually it gets quiet. The energy that goes out with the sound waves is energy that the bell is losing," Burko described in a statement. "A black hole does exactly that in gravitational waves instead of sound waves. A black hole that is wobbling is emitting gravitational waves. When those vibrations die down you get a quiet black hole."

Gravitational waves are predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity to emanate from neutron stars and black holes, but astronomers have not yet detected any directly.

The research is detailed in the Jan. 7 issue of the journal Classical and Quantum Gravity.

While the PS3 Gravity Grid may not be useful for all types of research, for those requiring little RAM but massive computations it can prove a cost-cutting tool, said Khanna, who built a smaller cluster before stringing together the 16-machine grid.

"Science budgets have been significantly dropping over the last decade," said Khanna, who describes how to build a PS3 computer cluster on his Web site. "Here's a way that people can do science projects less expensively."

© 2009 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

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[Septimus Prime]

So this is like two stories in one.

[Geezer00003]

Not to go off topic but.......

I wonder what experiments the 360's and Wii's are running?

Ideas?

[LifeOfAPirate13]

+16 PS3 console sales!

[jkwest]

Originally Posted by Geezer00003

Not to go off topic but.......

I wonder what experiments the 360's and Wii's are running?

Ideas?

360...heat exchange compared to decibel output...

Wii...how fast an elderly citizen can topple over dead from WiiSport overuse.

[ras752000]

Originally Posted by jkwest

360...heat exchange compared to decibel output...
overuse.

I was thinking 16 360s would work good as a junkyard model/simulation . . .

[AikonEnt]

And because of the PS3 I now know something about black holes I wouldn't otherwise have know

[Rike255]

Haha, Sony should make a version of the PS3 that fits inside server cabinets. They seem to be very well suited for the task.

[MacHaggis]

The 360 has already contributed to science.

Scientists have found that when digital data gets absorbed by a black hole, a Red Ring of energy is observed!

- Bogdan

[MacHaggis]

On a different note, looking on the OP's image, I hope the room is really cold.

That many PS3s, running at full speed, generate lots of heat.

- Bogdan

[Rike255]

Originally Posted by MacHaggis

On a different note, looking on the OP's image, I hope the room is really cold.

That many PS3s, running at full speed, generate lots of heat.

- Bogdan

They likely have ventilation setup similar to normal server rooms. Air conditioning in the right aisle in the picture, the aisle on the left is the hot aisle.

[fsavoie]

Originally Posted by Geezer00003

Not to go off topic but.......

I wonder what experiments the 360's and Wii's are running?

Ideas?

I've seen on tv that somehere in canada, they were using the wii for physiotherapy. It is supposed to give faster results than normal therapy.

[zombieking]

Originally Posted by Geezer00003

Not to go off topic but.......

I wonder what experiments the 360's and Wii's are running?

Ideas?

360 experiment -- how many consoles will the red-ring-of-death victims re-buy until they are either bankrupt or see the light and go PS3

Wii experiment -- how many suckers on planet Earth are willing to invest in a gimmicky machine that requires 48 different peripherals to play games that have 0 depth or substance? (I was burned)

[Rike255]

Originally Posted by zombieking

Wii experiment -- how many suckers on planet Earth are willing to invest in a gimmicky machine that requires 48 different peripherals to play games that have 0 depth or substance? (I was burned)

I'm SOO pissed about Animal Crossing for the Wii. That's the biggest scam I've ever seen. The damn game is identical to the old Gamecube one... **** Nintendo.

[jkwest]

Originally Posted by Rike255

I'm SOO pissed about Animal Crossing for the Wii. That's the biggest scam I've ever seen. The damn game is identical to the old Gamecube one... **** Nintendo.

srsly...what were they thinking...they hardly even updated the graphics...

[Rike255]

Originally Posted by jkwest

srsly...what were they thinking...they hardly even updated the graphics...

Ya, it was the biggest waste of money I've ever spent. And I've eaten at McDonalds before!

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by LifeOfAPirate13

+16 PS3 console sales!

None of which are being used for gaming or Blu-Ray movies, and Sony is losing money on each console sold, so this actually doesn't benefit Sony at all.

[Marquoz]

Originally Posted by jkwest

360...heat exchange compared to decibel output...

Wii...how fast an elderly citizen can topple over dead from WiiSport overuse.

The Wii is a good way for disabled people and senior citizens to exercise. They can still get an upper body workout if they are wheelchair bound with the controllers. It also gets senior citizens up and moving about in a fun way.

[Marquoz]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

None of which are being used for gaming or Blu-Ray movies, and Sony is losing money on each console sold, so this actually doesn't benefit Sony at all.

The public relations and the possibility of bulk purchases from universities are actually a great benefit to sony. Regardless of how much they lose, this is a VERY good way to get their name out there as to how powerful the system is. Once people start equating Supercomputer and PS3 together (people aren't going to care that it took 16) they will want one even more to play with at home.

Also do you REALLY think they aren't playing games on it during down times? I've played solitaire on a Silicon Graphics machine before.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Dynamo of Eternia

None of which are being used for gaming or Blu-Ray movies, and Sony is losing money on each console sold, so this actually doesn't benefit Sony at all.

I wouldn't be so sure of that statement, not if they bought the CECHM revision...