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How Heavy Is a Petabyte?

Posted by timothy on from the but-electrons-don't-weigh-anything dept.

Jon Morgan writes "Whilst heaving around numerous data storage systems to sell (they weigh A LOT!), we got to wondering: How heavy is a Petabyte of data storage? Our best guess is 365KG, which is 6 million times lighter than in 1980! But is there a lighter way to store a Petabyte?"

15 of 495 comments (clear)

  1. library of congress by SoupGuru · · Score: 5, Funny

    How heavy is a Library of Congress?

    --
    What doesn't kill you only delays the inevitable
    1. Re:library of congress by Smidge204 · · Score: 5, Funny

      If we take a book to have approximately 7000 BTU per pound when incinerated (newsprint is about 7,500) then we get 437.5 BTU per ounce.

      So 1 LoC = 14,000,000,000 BTU or 14,770 gigajoules.

      Finally! A heat unit LoC equivalent!
      =Smidge=

    2. Re:library of congress by CarpetShark · · Score: 4, Funny

      See, this is why I love slashdot. Ask a silly question and more often than not you'll get an answer.

      And it's usually, "fuck off" ;)

    3. Re:library of congress by Cryacin · · Score: 5, Funny

      What if we want a silly answer?

      There's always dig.

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  2. Need conversion to units of Libraries of Congress by AcidPenguin9873 · · Score: 5, Funny

    What are these Petabytes of which you speak? America measures data in units of Libraries of Congress.

  3. Cloud computing by Sta7ic · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just stick the petabyte on the cloud! Clouds are as light as air!

    (why yes, I am from Marketing, why do you ask?)

  4. "But is there a lighter way to store a Petabyte?" by John+Hasler · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sure. Store it in a WOM chip. They only weigh a few grams, hold literally unlimited data, and are really fast.

    --
    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
  5. Re:Work it out in your head by John+Hasler · · Score: 4, Funny

    They probably want an error rate lower than 10%.

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    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
  6. It depends.. by Qwell · · Score: 4, Funny

    Are you storing mostly 1s or mostly 0s? Everybody knows they don't weigh the same.

    --
    As of 10/06/03, I hate COBOL developers.
    1. Re:It depends.. by IHawkMike · · Score: 5, Funny

      Here's an interesting discussion on the topic ;)

  7. Re:Theoretically quite close to zero ... by RajivSLK · · Score: 4, Funny

    Or you could just stick a mirror "out there". The light would quite conveniently come back at you. Or you could sneak around the other side of the universe and wait for the light...

  8. Re:How much does a "full" HDD weigh vs. an empty H by Darkness404 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Oh, and BTW, when a person dies does the body weigh a tiny amount less after the sole leaves?

    Depends on the shoe they are wearing. On a boot, no, its a large amount, on sneakers, yes it might be a tiny amount.

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.
  9. Already answered by slasho81 · · Score: 5, Funny

    This subject has already been discussed.

  10. Re:Cloud computing-Clouds in Elephant Units by rjhubs · · Score: 5, Funny

    and all of this sits upon a tortoise? Amazing!

  11. Re:Cloud computing-Clouds in Elephant Units by cerberusss · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, not just one. It's tortoises all the way down, young man.

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    8 of 13 people found this answer helpful. Did you?