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The Unrelenting Roar of a Crypto Mine Tore This Town Apart
Popular Mechanics ^ | 1-5-2023 | Wudan Yan

Posted on 01/08/2023 9:40:12 AM PST by Saije

It was nearly midnight in late April when Lynell Morris’s husband, Michael, returned home after a shift at work.

As he fumbled his keys, the motion-sensing light on their front doorstep flicked on. His eye caught a glint of gold: a .22 bullet on his doormat. It seemed odd as he and Lynell own a different-​caliber firearm. Nevertheless, he brought it inside and set it on their kitchen table.

A few days later, he remembered to ask Lynell about it. Immediately, she yelped, “Politics!” Neither Lynell nor Michael is running for office. But over the last few months, Lynell had become enmeshed in local politics after a cryptocurrency mine set up shop in their town of Murphy, North Carolina, in September 2021. “Mine” is a misnomer, as these facilities are clusters of computing units, solving complex problems to help transact and generate virtual currency, with large—and noisy—fans to cool them...

Sound travels in waves and tends to travel farthest in open landscapes. And low-frequency sounds, like the rumble from the crypto mine, travel farther than high-frequency sounds (think: a scream, or nails on a chalkboard) because the longer waves of a low-frequency noise cover more ground before losing energy. In Murphy, residents who can hear the indelible hum most prominently live near an unobstructed path from it. During winter, the noise gets worse without leaves on trees to help absorb the sound. But year-round, residents living up to a mile away from the mine can hear it.

(Excerpt) Read more at popularmechanics.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: bitcoin; crypto; indeliblehum; indeliblewhining; mining; noise
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According to the article, most of these facilities were located in China until it banned them and now they're being constructed here. But not next to that $4 Million house SBF's parents own out in Silicon Valley, not in places like that.
1 posted on 01/08/2023 9:40:12 AM PST by Saije
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To: Saije

kind of like the low frequency emanations from a windmill. Really bothersome.


2 posted on 01/08/2023 9:43:23 AM PST by NewHampshireDuo
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To: Saije

I thought that the number of Bitcoins has almost maxxed out. Not too many more to find. Lots of work for that ‘last one’. May not be worth it?

Do these mines mine some other crypto?


3 posted on 01/08/2023 9:49:58 AM PST by Scrambler Bob
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To: Saije

most stupid technological development of all time.

Wasting electricity to create money not based on anything real.

IMHO ban it all. Sam Bankman-Fried was just a first taste.


4 posted on 01/08/2023 9:52:32 AM PST by Phoenix8
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To: NewHampshireDuo

“kind of like the low frequency emanations from a windmill. Really bothersome.”

A/C units


5 posted on 01/08/2023 9:56:41 AM PST by TexasGator (!!!)
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To: Saije

Are they physically minning anything? What makes the noise? Computers make noise? This is real?


6 posted on 01/08/2023 10:03:16 AM PST by Fungi
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To: Phoenix8

Crypto doesn’t even create money.

It creates the ability to exchange money.


7 posted on 01/08/2023 10:18:16 AM PST by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: Saije

SBF

How did the Swedish Bikini Federation get involved in this?


8 posted on 01/08/2023 10:21:47 AM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: Saije

I wonder if there are similar complaints near large data centers. Because that’s all a crypto mine is.

My guess is a large data center has better sound insulation.


9 posted on 01/08/2023 10:22:58 AM PST by Vermont Lt
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To: Fungi

The fans to cool the computers are what makes the noise.


10 posted on 01/08/2023 10:24:38 AM PST by cgbg (Claiming that laws and regs that limit “hate speech” stop freedom of speech is “hate speech”.)
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To: Vermont Lt

Do you remember the huge data centers of the 1970s and 1980s?

They were gigantic buildings with massive A/C systems.

My memory is that they were very noisy inside but quiet outside.


11 posted on 01/08/2023 10:26:20 AM PST by cgbg (Claiming that laws and regs that limit “hate speech” stop freedom of speech is “hate speech”.)
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To: Vermont Lt

The data centers in northern Virginia look and sound like office buildings (on the outside).


12 posted on 01/08/2023 10:27:49 AM PST by NorthMountain (... the right of the peopIe to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed)
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To: cgbg

Thank you. This is craziness.


13 posted on 01/08/2023 10:28:44 AM PST by Fungi
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To: Saije

It isn’t the sound, it’s the influx of all those crypto miners, with their hard hats and their rough talk, taking over the bars and clubs with their dang Final Fantasy and World of Warcraft binges.


14 posted on 01/08/2023 10:29:25 AM PST by Billthedrill
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To: NewHampshireDuo

“kind of like the low frequency emanations from a windmill. Really bothersome.”

My rocket scientist BiL testified about sleep deprivation from Wind Turbines before the Idaho State legislature. I don’t think it did any good.

He’s a major environmentalist but pushes nuclear since he’s a nuclear fuels scientist.


15 posted on 01/08/2023 10:33:43 AM PST by SaxxonWoods (The only way to secure your own future is to create it yourself.)
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To: Billthedrill
Actual footage.


16 posted on 01/08/2023 10:34:35 AM PST by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait!)
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To: Phoenix8

I’m with you. I haven’t read much on crypto ming but this is a mencer. And the power consumption is ridiculous. I hope these people can get better response from the state. Sounds like someone gotba good payoff letting this crap get setup in these people’s back yards.


17 posted on 01/08/2023 10:38:47 AM PST by SueRae (An administration like no other.)
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To: SueRae

What’s hilarious is many of the most vocal on anthropogenic global warming are also big in bitcoin mining. 🤔


18 posted on 01/08/2023 10:41:16 AM PST by Phoenix8
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To: Billthedrill

Ha!


19 posted on 01/08/2023 10:44:54 AM PST by Saije
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To: Fungi

Exactly.

They should visit my server room. Or better yet, the mainframe computer rooms I ran when I was active duty 30-40 years ago.


20 posted on 01/08/2023 10:45:12 AM PST by Alas Babylon! (Gov't declaring misinformation is tyranny: “Who determines what false information is?” )
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