Oh Google, will you never stop surprising me? Turns out, back in 2007, Google put in a patent application for an wave-powered server farm. According to the patent, they would like to distribute data centers closer to users, but it is sometimes difficult to come across places to put the server farms and cheap electricity to power them.

Well, to solve that problem, Google thought maybe they'd put the server farms on a boat, and power the farm itself with a web of wave-power buoys. In addition, a sea-water cooling system would keep the whole operation from overheating.

You can read the whole patent application here. I love the way Google thinks, though I'm not entirely sure that this is going to turn out to be a large-scale solution. I mean, what happens in places without good waves, or when the weather turns placid...does the internet go away? I don't think I could handle that.

Via The Earth Times

Comments (7)

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Nice
written by Brandon , September 08, 2008

Very nice thinking on Google's part. Love to see this in action.

http://www.noobad.com

Brilliant Idea!
written by Keith , September 08, 2008

Google has proven again for its vast creativity thinking. Such a patent will come to no surprise to anyone. Physically or financially practical or not, it depends on time to come. However, this simply does deserve the Digg, unlike what Steven has mentioned above.

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written by Michael , September 08, 2008

I always thought patents need to be for tangible prototypes and demonstrative functionality not some squiggly lines on a napkin, this is not a patent its an idea, something any doodler has done. You can copyright the drawings and paper but not patent the idea. Is this how the US patent office operates, no wonder there is so much litigation, ridiculous.

and at the first Tsunami, google servers
written by Firefoxian , September 08, 2008

and at the first Tsunami, google servers are gone

STUPID
written by wes , September 17, 2008

Thats not a patent, thats putting expensive equipment in a risky place. AND the Wave Powered bouys have already been Patented, Theres are farm of them off the coast of Whales or something, but besides that, you connect the power generation system to you computer system WOW BIG NEW IDEA, OH YEAH you put the computers on a boat.....I though you could run power anywhere. what does it matter how close to the generation source. Sounds like you want to CRAM more people and junk on the coasts which are already the MOST expensive place to live.

On A second Note wave power is good for it is very constant and un-ending (compared to solar and wind)

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written by Mel , September 20, 2008

Actually wave buoy technology has several working prototypes. The biggest North American company working on REAL implementation that I know of is Finavera Renewables

http://www.finavera.com/en/wave

They have three different projects going on right now to bring this technology to market in North America. They started a couple of these projects in 2006 and have gone through multiple revisions of the tech. in order to improve it.

Google can dream all it wants... but DOING actually helps the environment.

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written by Doesn't Matter , September 30, 2008

Umm, this isn't really a cause for celebration. Placing Gxxgle in international waters (subject to no laws) is about the scariest thing I've ever heard. Check out some anti-Gxxgle sites to see how they work closely with fascist governments to repress freedom, like when they turned over names to the Chinese gov. Those people were killed and internal memos show that Gxxgle had a good indication that that would happen. Why were they killed? Because they used Gxxgle to find out about their government. Who's the cool hipster corporation now!?

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