FARK.com: (6694063) Scientists say a full Kindle is a billionth of a billionth of a gram heavier than an empty one. Back to that niggling cancer conundrum, chaps?

		Scientists say a full Kindle is a billionth of a billionth of a gram heavier than an empty one. Back to that niggling cancer conundrum, chaps? (shortlist.com)		53
		More: Interesting, Kindle

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The Stealth Hippopotamus

2011-11-01 10:57:53 AM

Now are we talking about loading it up with modern lit like Twilight?

Or are we talking about Plato? 'cause some of that shiat is heavy yo.

Pocket Ninja

2011-11-01 11:15:15 AM

Would the color Kindles be heavier? I'd think that full color would be much heavier than regular black and white. And pictures would be heavier than just words.

DarkJohnson

2011-11-01 11:16:14 AM

gameshowhost

2011-11-01 11:37:38 AM

How would switching around non-volatile memory spunklets from random to ordered change the weight?

:|

/drtfa

reported

2011-11-01 11:41:51 AM

The same scientists explained that e-books could be heavier in summer too, because they would take on more energy from their exposure to sunlight.

Yep, we're being trolled.

/ science!

On Again

2011-11-01 11:51:57 AM

Well obviously. A combination of 1s and 0s weigh more than 0s alone. I thought everyone knew that.

birchman

2011-11-01 12:08:55 PM

niggling?

DAS WASSIS

BKITU

2011-11-01 12:16:40 PM

gameshowhost: How would switching around non-volatile memory spunklets from random to ordered change the weight?

FTFA: Although the electrons are already present, keeping them still rather than allowing them to float around takes up extra energy - about a billionth of a microjoule per bit of data.

Throw in a little E=mc² and, allakafermi, more energy=more mass!

gameshowhost

2011-11-01 12:22:00 PM

BKITU: gameshowhost: How would switching around non-volatile memory spunklets from random to ordered change the weight?

FTFA: Although the electrons are already present, keeping them still rather than allowing them to float around takes up extra energy - about a billionth of a microjoule per bit of data.

Throw in a little E=mc2 and, allakafermi, more energy=more mass!

That I get :P -- I thought non-volatile was just switches that only required energy to change state, not to maintain state...

Sybarite

2011-11-01 12:40:32 PM

Wait, does this mean my Kindle has a soul?

OregonVet

2011-11-01 01:23:52 PM

gameshowhost: I thought non-volatile was just switches that only required energy to change state, not to maintain state...

This. Although nonvolatile memory remains in that state when removed. So technically a electron is still energized when, for example, switching a card from a camera to a laptop. Unlike a CD. Which begs the question- is the CD lighter when there is a lot of data on it than when it's new?

/not a sciency type

kingoomieiii

2011-11-01 01:47:26 PM

OregonVet: is the CD lighter when there is a lot of data on it than when it's new?

A CD-R does not measurably* change in weight when written. The data is applied by a laser that "burns" in the data onto the bottom of the label side. All of the mass remains locked in the plastic of the disk.

*measurable to normal humans, but apparently the farkers in TFA can measure anything

FARTNOISE FARTNOISE JUNIOR

2011-11-01 01:50:19 PM

On Again: Well obviously. A combination of 1s and 0s weigh more than 0s alone. I thought everyone knew that.

...but 1s are skinnier.

MisterBill

2011-11-01 02:20:14 PM

FARTNOISE FARTNOISE JUNIOR: On Again: Well obviously. A combination of 1s and 0s weigh more than 0s alone. I thought everyone knew that.

...but 1s are skinnier.

The they get stuck in corners a lot. The 0's are much better at cornering.

Uzzah

2011-11-01 02:20:22 PM

stevetherobot

2011-11-01 02:25:09 PM

No wonder my arms get so tired when I'm reading on my Kindle.

kenryoku_one

2011-11-01 02:36:38 PM

Of course Jen, the internet doesn't weigh anything.

the_sidewinder

2011-11-01 02:37:42 PM

OregonVet: Which begs the question

No it doesn't

crab66

2011-11-01 02:37:59 PM

Is this in a completely clean environment?

kungfu jesus with a side of lime

2011-11-01 02:39:29 PM

didnt someone once weigh the internet... my guess is that the internet is a fatty

beta_plus

2011-11-01 02:41:07 PM

These stupid discovery threads need a scientist "Look at me! I'm an attention whore!" meme jpg.

Shrugging Atlas

2011-11-01 03:01:19 PM

10 days until I get my Fire in my greedy little hands.

Fano

2011-11-01 03:11:57 PM

Sybarite: Wait, does this mean my Kindle has a soul?

A silicon soul. It will attempt to emulate the batputer to prove its robanity. A full human soul weighs 22 grams.

DECMATH

2011-11-01 03:23:13 PM

Nothing new here. More information, which is entropy, leads to emergent gravity, right?

Thelyphthoric

2011-11-01 03:25:11 PM

Uzzah: [dilbert.com image 640x194]

Came here for exactly that Dilbert strip.

Fluxinator

2011-11-01 03:25:36 PM

Energy has mass. A wind-up toy has less mass after it's been released and completely unwound. And as the article stated, it takes more energy to save files than not save files. To that point, a fully charged Kindle is heavier than one that's nearly out of juice. This is known.

tricycleracer

2011-11-01 03:47:57 PM

Pocket Ninja: And pictures would be heavier than just words.

Probably by a 1000:1 ratio.

Solon Isonomia

2011-11-01 03:49:53 PM

That must've been a super accurate scale...

tricycleracer

2011-11-01 03:52:44 PM

A billionth of a billionth of a gram of cocaine in cop math is worth $300.

mod3072

2011-11-01 03:56:32 PM

I can tell how books a Kindle has stored on it just by picking it up and testing the weight.

nunoyo

2011-11-01 03:56:37 PM

This sounds like some back-of-the-envelope calculations some scientists did over lunch as a joke, taken too far by tech-blog person.

Surool

2011-11-01 04:02:15 PM

Sybarite: Wait, does this mean my Kindle has a soul?

Of course it does. When it dies, it goes to silicon heaven.

Kryten: Surely you've heard of silicon heaven?
Lister: Has it got anything to do with being stuck opposite Brigitte Nielsen in a packed lift?
Kryten: No, sir. It's the electronic afterlife. It's the gathering place for the souls of all electronic equipment. Robots, toasters, calculators. It's our final resting place.
Lister: I don't mean to say anything out of place here, Kryten, but that is completely whacko Jacko. There is no such thing as 'Silicon Heaven'.
Kryten: Then where do all the calculators go?

Make More Hinjews

2011-11-01 04:13:41 PM

birchman: niggling?

DAS WASSIS

Came here for this.

kenlmf

2011-11-01 04:18:15 PM

but, is that the same amount of weight the professor's brain lost when explaining his bullsh*t?

poot_rootbeer

2011-11-01 04:25:28 PM

Shrugging Atlas: 10 days until I get my Fire in my greedy little hands.

*checking calendar* It... you... November 15 release... what?

Ed Willy

2011-11-01 04:36:39 PM

Somewhere a lawyer is preparing a class action lawsuit of people injured because the manufacturer didn't warn them of the added weight caused by the addition of books.

WarehouseMouse

2011-11-01 04:44:52 PM

Surool: Sybarite: Wait, does this mean my Kindle has a soul?

Of course it does. When it dies, it goes to silicon heaven.

Kryten: Surely you've heard of silicon heaven?
Lister: Has it got anything to do with being stuck opposite Brigitte Nielsen in a packed lift?
Kryten: No, sir. It's the electronic afterlife. It's the gathering place for the souls of all electronic equipment. Robots, toasters, calculators. It's our final resting place.
Lister: I don't mean to say anything out of place here, Kryten, but that is completely whacko Jacko. There is no such thing as 'Silicon Heaven'.
Kryten: Then where do all the calculators go?

'The Last Day' - just rewatched that episode last week.

apeiron242

2011-11-01 04:45:46 PM

Remember kids:

Scientists can work on exactly one problem at a time.

bidness

2011-11-01 04:47:50 PM

You should be nubianrdly with use of words like "niggling", on the off chance that some nubians might get offended.

PsyLord

2011-11-01 04:52:54 PM

So the Kindle can convert energy into matter? Holy Frak.

Gyrony

2011-11-01 05:15:09 PM

Of course it gets completely lost in the weight of all the E. Coli from your greasy fingers.

lordargent

2011-11-01 05:37:02 PM

What's a Hemingway?

DontMakeMeComeBackThere

2011-11-01 05:47:44 PM

lordargent: What's a Hemingway?

Drunk or sober?

imgod2u

2011-11-01 06:05:36 PM

gameshowhost: How would switching around non-volatile memory spunklets from random to ordered change the weight?

:|

/drtfa

Those memory spunlets store bits by trapping charge in an isolated pocket of metal called a floating gate on top of a transistor. In theory, the electrons trapped there -- to store a "0" bit -- add to the mass of the device.

Shrugging Atlas

2011-11-01 06:28:46 PM

poot_rootbeer: Shrugging Atlas: 10 days until I get my Fire in my greedy little hands.

*checking calendar* It... you... November 15 release... what?

Doh, why the hell did I think it was 11/11? You're absolutely correct sir.

Gordon Bennett

2011-11-01 07:01:05 PM

MisterBill: FARTNOISE FARTNOISE JUNIOR: On Again: Well obviously. A combination of 1s and 0s weigh more than 0s alone. I thought everyone knew that.

...but 1s are skinnier.

The they get stuck in corners a lot. The 0's are much better at cornering.

That's why you should keep all of your cables as straight as possible. They slow down when the 1s get stuck and bunch up around tight corners.

gameshowhost

2011-11-01 10:30:45 PM

imgod2u: gameshowhost: How would switching around non-volatile memory spunklets from random to ordered change the weight?

:|

/drtfa

Those memory spunlets store bits by trapping charge in an isolated pocket of metal called a floating gate on top of a transistor. In theory, the electrons trapped there -- to store a "0" bit -- add to the mass of the device.

Ah. TY.

JonZoidberg

2011-11-01 11:18:24 PM

Shrugging Atlas: poot_rootbeer: Shrugging Atlas: 10 days until I get my Fire in my greedy little hands.

*checking calendar* It... you... November 15 release... what?

Doh, why the hell did I think it was 11/11? You're absolutely correct sir.

11/11 is when Skyrim falls into my lap, 11/15 is Kindle Fire day.

DON.MAC

2011-11-02 01:17:52 AM

I'm guessing the weight change from the state of charge on the battery might have far more of an effect.

Also 1 and 0 in the memory aren't stored as 1 and 0 in the memory since most memory chips invert rows as a way to help memory tests to detect failures faster.

I sound fat

2011-11-02 01:41:56 AM

gameshowhost: How would switching around non-volatile memory spunklets from random to ordered change the weight?

:|

/drtfa

how do you measure a billionth of an ounce? houw much does the speck of dust that just landed on it weigh? are we sure that, if we account for the dust, that a full kindle isnt LIGHTER?

seems like theoretical crap to me.

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