Grid Computing and High Energy Physics
Grid computing is the most vital tool currently available to scientists, and especially nuclear physicists as it allows for the processing of data that would be virtually impossible by any one institution, even a well funded institution such as CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research).
Grid computing also known as cluster computing is a way of farming out work to many computers. One computer would take too long to go through millions of processes to arrive at computational results. Instead software has been developed to parcel up the tasks and to take advantage of the unused capacity of many computers. For this reason, it is sometimes thought of as parallel computing, as many computers work in tandem, all taking small tasks while not inferring with the other tasks the computers have been set. It is similar to peer-to-peer computing which utilizes the unused bandwidth of a network of computers to send small pieces of information between computers which are then reassembled into whole files. This is essentially how peer-to-peer programs like bit torrent work.
Grid computing is not used for downloading (legal or illegal) files but rather for analyzing data on a massive scale. One of the first organizations to do this was SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) and the ‘Home’ project that used the unused capacity of thousands of members’ computers to look for signs of intelligent communication in space.
Nuclear physics exploded the old world view of Newtonian physics and replaced the constants of a 3 dimensional world with a fixed linear time with a multi-dimensional universe where time is relative. It was discovered that the smallest particles could not only be simultaneously waves and particles but also that the position of a particle could never be known exactly. Thus, probability theory and mathematical models that could map probability were needed to gain a better understanding of the fundamental conditions at the heart of matter.
These conditions, as CERN are researching, are also closely connected with the start of time when certain conditions prevailed which allowed for matter to be born out of nothing and for the universe to come into existence. This is the ‘Big Bang’. The secret to how matter could come into being ‘sui generis’ is held within the nature of the smallest particles.
To understand the Big Bang and the origins of the universe it is necessary to perform billions of computations. No one computer is powerful enough to do this. This is where a computational grid is so important. Working together, many computers can analyze the movements of sub-atomic particles that recreate the very moment that matter and time were born. This is what the Large Hadron Collider (LHD) is attempting. And the results of LHD are making the need for ever more complex high energy physics datasets. These datasets must be stored, analyzed and then accessed by thousands of physicists all collaborating from around the world.
One of the headaches thrown up by this huge task is finding working standards for grid computing that people all over the world can work with, so that the results that are pieced together from many computers working together are accurate and intelligible. Many scientists have given up their free time to work on a series of international standards for grid computing.
It is time well devoted, if the secret of the beginning of time is at last revealed.
Using Computers To Control Vaporizers
Research into parallel computing has lead to the development of many consumer devices. People may be surprised to learn of all the applications of this technology. The principles behind parallel computing help power such diverse things as rockets, the SETI project, and vaporizers. As mentioned above, one application of the technology is file-sharing networks. The Recording Industry Association of America is not likely to be a supporter of this use.
There are actually desktop applications available that allow regular PC users to contribute to parallel computing research. Some people are familiar with the SETI@home project, which allows you to devote unused computing power to processing data from SETI research. The SETI project has taken advantage of the computing power of “citizen scientists” to further its research. If you leave your PC running during the day, it may be worthwhile for you to install this application. According to the SETI website, the application requires an inital download of about 10 MB, and you need plenty of hard disk space and RAM to keep the program running. They prefer that you run the program for at least two hours per week. So, if you decide to install this application, UC Berkeley will appreciate the help with the project.
One specific area of research in parallel computing is GPGPU, or general purpose computing on graphics processing units. I wonder when one of these will show up in a PC. An interesting note is that computers are being used to control some of the best vaporizers that are available today. Author Herb Green writes about this on his website about vaporizers. These devices require precise temperature control, so the heating element has to cycle on and off. This requires a sophisticated sensor to monitor the heating and cooling process. It’s likely that the use of parallel computing technology will increase significantly over the next few years.
Computing Without Thought
It’s amazing how much computing has changed the world and how we think. The idea that we can use grid computing to attempt to map the Big Bang is a concept almost too abstract to understand, yet computers are able to work on tasks like this around the clock. The beauty of computers is that they take the human thought process out of the equation and simply do what they are told.
I recently had the pleasure of working on a website that compared different sulfate-free shampoos for consumers. It was built on complicated database technology that required a lot of custom programming. Still, though, it truly amazed me that “complicated” (to a human) initial programming could create a website that would run day after day, year after year, without a single thought from a computer.
Computing — grid and otherwise — is undeniably exciting. So much progress has been made and will continue to be made. It may be only a few years before computers can map out this planet’s origins! (… or at least give you a good shampoo recommendation)
Computing using Math to make Wine
It isn’t every day that you can get the attention of every 16 year old boy in a high school math class is it?
Here’s a simple way to do it. Tell them that by using math they’ll learn to make their own beer or wine. Ok, so there might be some parent complaints along the way, but who’s counting those anyway!
Anyway the local wine club owner was telling me this is how he got his son interested in math in high school. He had him work a summer tending grapes, but the process taught him all about how sugar in grapes, when yeast is present, turns into alcohol. Of course, he wanted to understand how it all happened and before he knew it….he was doing quite a bit of math without complaining about it!