How you can help the LHC and 12 other ways to donate your PC's spare processing power

Contribute to projects including the LHC, climate forecasting, projects that benefit humanity, target disease cures and more

Quake-Catcher Network

This one is different from the other projects in that it's not really exploiting processing power, but rather, built-in accelerometers in laptops as a distributed seismograph. The idea is to provide a better understanding of earthquakes, give early warning to schools, emergency response systems and others (a big emphasis of the project is getting K-12 science teachers involved). While desktop systems don't have accelerometers, they can be outfitted with USB-based sensors to partake in the network. The smallest earthquake detected by the network so far measured 3.1 in southern California and the largest has been a 6.4 in Japan. The project, which has about 1,000 sensors in action (though the number varies week to week), is the brainchild of researchers from the University of California, Riverside and Stanford University.

11 of 13
VIEW ALL THUMBNAILS

Most Popular

What's the difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?
Samsung’s 2013 Smart TVs: everything you need to know
How do I connect my TV to the Internet?
Laser vs. inkjet printers: which is better?
Windows 7 Home Premium vs. Windows 7 Professional

Best Deals on PCWorld

Printers & ScannersView all »
NotebooksView all »
TabletsView all »
Mobile PhonesView all »
Networking, Wireless & VoIPView all »

Plan Comparison

Prev Next
Loading...
Deals powered by WhistleOut

rhs_login_lockSign up to PC World Today for the latest news, reviews and galleries from PC World Australia.