Music and Dementia, Microbe Rocket Fuel, Bitcoin Mining
Curiosity Weekly
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The Effects of Bitcoin Mining on the Earth
Like all other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin isn't a physical form of currency. But the effects it has when people mine for it are said to be similar to the effects of actual mining on the physical world. It's actually more like a massive global network of supercomputers working together to create just one Bitcoin over the course of days. However, each of these computers uses more electricity than the average computer, creating more fossil fuel pollution. In 2020, Austria used 69 terawatt hours, which is 69 trillion watts per hour. That's how much electricity was needed for the year per hour in Portugal.
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