Posted on 02/13/2026 12:01:45 PM PST by SmokingJoe
Elon Musk revealed the future of quantum computing will be on the Moon's permanently shadowed craters
Quantum computing need extreme cold and near-perfect isolation to work
The Moon’s permanently shadowed craters offer exactly that
- Temperatures stay below −200°C, keeping qubits stable without massive Earth-based cooling systems
- No atmosphere, no weather, no day–night cycles. Hardware stays in a steady, undisturbed state
- No air, no vibrations, no human electromagnetic noise - meaning quantum information survives longer with fewer errors
The Moon is not just for exploration It is actually a perfect home for the future of computing
(Excerpt) Read more at x.com ...
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You can transfer heat from the AI chips to the radiators however way you want (conduction, convection(using a coolant)). But that’s inside the closed system.
Transfering heat from the closed system to the heat sink (deep space looking from the permanent shadow regions of the moon) will only work with radiative cooling. The limiting factor is still how much heat can be *radiated* into deep black space. That was my point.
Put up or shut up.
We have already seen ...
I didn't change the subject, I just haven't any interest in arguing with a BS artist.
Put up or shut up.
Back in Apollo era it was suggested that ultra-low lunar temperatures would enable tiny computers the size of a cigarette lighter. Turns out the moon wasn’t needed at all.
“I didn’t change the subject, I just haven’t any interest in arguing with a BS artist.”
Yes you did. The subject was quantum computing heat generation and radiation cooling.
When you failed to support your claims you changed to asking me to cite quantum computers that were making profits for their owners.
So you admit you’re a BS artist.
Not that you have much choice. You’re pretty well-known around here.
“It’s kind of hard to get rid of excess heat in a vacuum, Elon. But what do I know.”
Do you want to revisit this BS?
“ It’s kind of hard to get rid of excess heat in a vacuum, Elon. But what do I know.”
***********************************************************
Elon says heat can be radiated away through a vacuum. The sun warms the Earth by radiating heat through almost 93 million miles of vacuum. Just sayin’.
WRONG! There is a day-night cycle, it just lasts a year. One side of the moon always faces the earth, which means that it faces the sun half the year as the earth revolves around the sun.
This idea sounds like the “longest con” in the history of mankind, at least so far. Like throwing money into SpaceX, when the future will be rebuilding Earth, or living Eternally with Christ.
We as a species are very close to the last chapter. All that is left is cashless society, a “Mark” to buy and sell and a One World Govt ruling over it.
🤣
There is no such thing as Hot or Cold. What we call those things are Energy transfers, and ways to measure them. Without an atmosphere to draw from, or radiate into, it is very hard to transfer that energy.
Gird up your loins, and pray unceasingly. Our redemption draweth nigh..
JMO
We’ll explore the Universe for eternity.
That's true. But the sun's surface temperature is almost 6000 K. Radiative heat transfer is governed by some fairly demanding equations. At 6000 K, you can lose quite a lot of heat to the vacuum. At room temperature, the amount is a lot less (the amount radiated scales as the fourth power of absolute temperature).
Pulling one watt of thermal energy from quantum computing temperatures up to room temperature takes almost 3kW of power, with 100% mechanical efficiency. Actual practical cryocoolers are much less efficient than that, from 1 to 5%.
That means that it will take something on the order of 150kW of electrical power to remove one watt of thermal energy from a quantum computer.
Of course, that 150 kW has to be generated, stored, converted from one form to another, etc. That all generates more heat.
But, as I said, what do I know.
The cryocooler on the James Webb Space Telescope needs around 300 watts of power to lift 55 mW of heat from 6.2K to a hot side temperature of around 300 K, which is about 80° F.
Lifting the same amount of heat from 0.1 K would require much more power. And 0.1 K is the high limit for present day quantum computing circuitry.
But what do I know.
Amen.
I thought that a few small regions near the lunar poles are in permanent darkness because its axis is barely tilted, so sunlight never reaches the deepest parts of certain polar craters.
But what do I know.
*************************
I have no idea what you know. But I’m willing to bet that the people who will invest tens of billions in something will make sure to employ scientists and engineers who do know their areas of expertise well. And those scientists/engineers would also be required to extensively test that knowledge and all equipment to ensure it’s scalable and durable in the intended environment.
“You’re pretty well-known around here.”
Yes. For correcting posts such as yours that are factually incorrect.
Yes, space-directed radiative cooling is maximum and continuous because no solar radiational heating.
No convective cooling like when you have an atmosphere. It is radiated directly to space in the infrared. Space station does this and so did Shuttle.
nps, it’s fourteen days of darkness between lunar sunset and lunar sunrise. But that’s not the issue: there are patches of the surface of the moon at the poles that ***never*** see the sun due to high crater poles.
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