Sam the OctopusSep 15, 2018

- a microSD card weighs somewhere around 0.4g
- the highest capacity microSD that's easily available is 256GB
- a trebuchet can throw a 90kg projectile over 300m

90kg worth of microSD cards is 225,000 of them

Therefore a trebuchet can throw 57.6PB of data over 300m

This would have the highest throughput of any telecommunications network ever created

Show threadDaveSep 15, 2018

@troubleMoney @uschebit Not calculating it through, but I think a train full of microSD cards would have a higher throughput over 300m, once it did accelerate to full speed. On a trebuchet, we'd have to calculate with ground speed, which is lower than trajectory speed.

Even higher throughput would be bringing a maximum payload of microSD cards into low earth orbit. That would move at around 7km/s.

Show threadAntjeSep 15, 2018
@anathem @troubleMoney
Sure, there are lots of ways to speed up the old "station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway". But everything involving a trebuchet gets automatic bonus points ;)
I like your low earth orbit suggestion! What's the "maximum payload", though? You can always fit in just one more tiny microSD card, can't you?
Show threadDaveSep 15, 2018
@uschebit @troubleMoney Best info I could find on maximum payload to low earth orbit was 140 metric tons using the Saturn V. Size considerations aside, that'd be ~83 PB at 7km/s...
Show threadT045T
@anathem @uschebit @troubleMoney does it have to be a single launch? because if not, the question becomes "what's the volume of all feasible low Earth orbits?", which is interesting too
Sep 15, 2018 at 12:25pmWeb
Show threadAntjeSep 15, 2018
@T045T @anathem @troubleMoney Let's call it the "high cloud".
Show threadT045TSep 15, 2018
@uschebit @anathem @troubleMoney how about a "ring buffer"? :>