IBM's supercomputing R&D for radioastronomy (pictures)
BIg Blue is working on technology to keep up with massive data production demands from the forthcoming SKA radio telescope. Here's a look at some of the technology it showed at CeBIT.
HANOVER, Germany -- The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) radio telescope that will be built from 2016 to 2024 in southern Africa and Australia is intended to peer at the Big Bang's radio remnants. Before that, IBM is working to develop the necessary computing technology through a five-year partnership with the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (Astron). At the CeBIT show here, the two groups are showing off some of the fruits of the cooperation, called Dome.
The SKA radiotelescope project could use phase-change memory chips such as this one for high-speed data storage.
IBM Microserver
IBM microservers use tiny circuit boards with ordinary Freescale processors that slot into a 3.5-inch-tall server. The white prototype below shows how a copper cooling system attaches to the circuit board.
Phased-array radiotelescope circuitry
A massive circuit board prototype from Astron show holds phased-array antennas for the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope project.
Phased-array radiotelescope
This circuit board is covered with antennas geared to listen to radio signals of a frequency between about 450MHz and 1.5GHz. The Square Kilometer Array project aims to cover a square kilometer across the southern hemisphere of Earth with such antennas.
IBM's Ronald Luijten
Ronald Luijten of IBM Research in Zurich speaking at CeBIT 2013.
More Galleries
My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
My Favorite Shots From the Galaxy S24 Ultra's Camera
20 Photos
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
Honor's Magic V2 Foldable Is Lighter Than Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra
10 Photos
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus Looks Sweet in Aluminum
23 Photos
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra Now Has a Titanium Design
23 Photos
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
34 Photos
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
17 Hidden iOS 17 Features You Should Definitely Know About
18 Photos
AI or Not AI: Can You Spot the Real Photos?