shac ron ₪Patent idea: RAM modules that mechanically tilt to keep the narrowest cross section oriented towards the sun. This minimizes bit flips in memory.
Abstract: as memory densities increase, every computer becomes a neutrino detector. …
Note that these will need to keep working at night, too. Neutrinos fly through the Earth without hitting anything.
Trying to figure out if this actually accomplishes anything. The surface presented to neutrinos is minimized, meaning far fewer particles pass through the die. On the other hand, each particle that does goes through significantly more silicon, increasing chance of impact.
Chris Bohn@shac Without doing the math, my intuition is that it depends on whether your goal is to reduce the total number of collisions or to reduce the likelihood of at least one collision.
hot metal oxide@DocBohn @shac Generally you are worried about free baryons. "Collision" makes it sound like a single energy event but the problem is characterized by linear energy transfer (LET) and recoiling heavy ions. Your intuition is correct in that flux varies by orientation but that you trade total flux for increased likelihood that energy is transferred across multiple structures which is a susceptibility for even hardened e.g. memory cells.
Michael Gemar@shac Maybe put some neutronium on the leading edge?
@shac ...without hitting anything except the occasional, unsuspecting DRAM cell.
60sRefugee@shac Probably more of a muon detector.