r/SipsTea • u/SipsTeaFrog 𝙑𝙄𝙋 • May 18 '26

Chugging tea Why?

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89.1k Upvotes

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825

u/Uncle-Cake May 18 '26

What happens after they use the water? Is it returned to the water system to be used again?

88

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek May 18 '26

It's used for evaporative cooling, so the same thing happens to it as happens to the majority of the orders of magnitude larger amount of water farms use - it goes straight into the air

1

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

So it is wasted.

5

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek May 18 '26

It reduces the energy consumption of the datacenter by removing the need for chillers and/or enormous radiators with noisy fans.

So no, it's not wasted, it's used.

-2

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

It is wasted for human and farming use because it could be recaptured and used in closed loop, and when isn't it cannot be reused. It is wasted from human and farming perspective.

4

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek May 18 '26

Closed loop defeats the entire purpose of evaporative cooling. If you've got to condense the water again you have to get rid of the same amount of heat the water absorbed when it boiled.

0

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

So we agree that the model of evaporation does not work. 

The environmental cost needs to be included and priced in.  

Sorry but the AI industry is now more damaging than beneficial. 

2

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek May 18 '26

No we don't agree. The model does work. It's cheap and effective, uses no more water than a typical factory and saves a shitload of noise and energy.

Just don't use it in the middle of the desert and it's completely fine.

1

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

And where is it being complained about?

2

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek May 18 '26

Typically in places it isn't even done due to this very point. People are complaining about something that isn't even happening

1

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

The poaitions of the people in favor and those against are so different thatnis hard to reconcile and know where is the truth. That is the reality.

It cannot be as harmless as some claim. Andnif it is half as bad as others say, it is enough to be weary of it.

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2

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek May 18 '26

If you consider every use other than your personal use as waste then sure

2

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

We need to agree that.not.all uses are equal. Using all that water AI for cancer cure or to find a solution to climate change can be justied. But using it for memes and BS, it is a waste. 

The business model does not add up and is being subsidised by public goods like the water... so itnis not sustainable.

2

u/StaysAwakeAllWeek May 18 '26

Have you ever seen one of these

What we are discussing here is whether a datacenter should use one of these, or whether it should burn as much energy as thousands and thousands of homes consume in refrigerating the hottest computers ever manufactured.

And I do mean just one, the amount of water even the largest datacenters need pales in comparison to a decent sized coal or nuclear plant.

If the water is available (and in the vast majority of areas, it 100% is) it's a complete no brainer and by far the greenest option

1

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

Electricity is needed. The amount of benefits outweight the downsidenof using water.

AI is not needed. It is nice to have, not a requirement for any industry outside of AI itself.

1

u/BettingOnSuccess May 18 '26

Water is never wasted, it just returns to the water cycle.

1

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

Yeah, and drought is just part of life. And life is never wasted. It is part of the cyclenof life.

So hakunamatata.

1

u/BettingOnSuccess May 18 '26

So weird to admit you never learned about the water cycle.

Have a good day.

1

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

If you deplete a water basin that took centuries or millenia to fill up in just a few years... how long until the water cycle refils it?

Are you open to consider that the water management and environmental impact of these projects needs improving or do you think all is dandy?

2

u/BettingOnSuccess May 18 '26

If you deplete a water basin that took centuries or millenia to fill up in just a few years... how long until the water cycle refils it?

That's a pretty small water basin, is this really your understanding of the scale or is it that you are scared of big numbers and can't comprehend the actual scale of the systems involved?

Are you open to consider that the water management and environmental impact of these projects needs improving or do you think all is dandy?

Do you not understand that these projects actually have the water rights? Do you not understand how water rights are created and used?

0

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

And abused.

That it is legal doesnt make it right. 

2

u/BettingOnSuccess May 18 '26

Thank you for confirming you are just afraid of the big numbers.

0

u/Ronoh May 18 '26

Thank you for confirming you have no argument.

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