Volunteer computingVolunteer computing is a type of distributed computing in which people donate their computers' unused resources to a research-oriented project, sometimes in exchange for credit points. The fundamental idea behind it is that a modern desktop computer is sufficiently powerful to perform billions of operations a second, but for most users only between 10–15% of its capacity is used. Common tasks such as word processing or web browsing leave the computer mostly idle.
SETI@homeSETI@home ("SETI at home") is a project of the Berkeley SETI Research Center to analyze radio signals with the aim of searching for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence. Until March 2020, it was run as an Internet-based public volunteer computing project that employed the BOINC software platform. It is hosted by the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, and is one of many activities undertaken as part of the worldwide SETI effort.
Personal computerA personal computer (PC), or simply computer, is a computer designed for personal use. It is typically used for tasks such as word processing, web browsing, email, file management, spreadsheets, and video calling. Personal computers are meant to be operated directly by an end user, instead of a computer expert, administrator, company or technician.
Computer performanceIn computing, computer performance is the amount of useful work accomplished by a computer system. Outside specific contexts, computer performance is estimated in terms of accuracy, efficiency and speed of executing computer program instructions. When it comes to high computer performance, one or more of the following factors might be involved: Short response time for a given piece of work.High throughput (rate of processing work tasks).Low utilization of computing resources.
Distributed computingDistributed computing is a field of computer science that studies distributed systems, defined as computer systems whose inter-communicating components are located on different networked computers. The components of a distributed system communicate and coordinate their actions by passing messages to one another in order to achieve a common goal.
Middleware (distributed applications)Middleware in the context of distributed applications is software that constraint services beyond those provided by the operating system to enable the various components of a distributed system to communicate and manage data. Middleware supports and simplifies complex distributed applications. It includes web servers, application servers, messaging and similar tools that support application development and delivery.
Environmental scienceEnvironmental science is an academic field that integrates the physical, biological, and mathematical sciences to study the environment and solve environmental problems. It uses an integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to analyze environmental systems and emerged from the fields of natural history and medicine during the Enlightenment.
MedicineDiagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illnessThe Doctor by Sir Luke Fildes (1891)Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment and palliation of their injury or disease, while promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices which evolved to maintain and restore health through the prevention and treatment of illness and infection.
MathematicsField of knowledgeIlluminated letter P at the beginning of Adelard of Bath's translation of Euclid's Elements, which starts "Punctum est illud cui pars non est" ('A point is that which has no part'). Geometry is shown personified as a woman, following Martianus Capella's De nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii.Mathematics is a field of knowledge concerned with abstract concepts such as numbers, geometric shapes, sets, functions, and probabilities.
Molecular biologyBranch of biology that studies biological systems at the molecular levelMolecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular structures and chemical processes that are the basis of biological activity within and between cells. It is centered largely on the study of nucleic acids (such as DNA and RNA) and proteins.
ClimatologyClimatology (from Greekκλίμα, klima, "slope"; and -λογία, ) or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospheric condition during an extended to indefinite period of time; weather is the condition of the atmosphere during a relative brief period of time.
LinguisticsScientific study of languageLinguistics is the scientific study of language.
AstrophysicsAstrophysics is a science that applies the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena including the universe. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the heavenly bodies, rather than their positions or motions in space—what they are, rather than where they are", which is studied in celestial mechanics.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.