When we consider the internet, we often imagine it as something intangible, existing in some alternate realm.
Yet, despite this abstract perception of the internet’s location and nature, one scientist succeeded in determining its weight.
There are numerous ways to approach the internet’s weight when attempting to calculate it.
A clear factor to consider is the extensive infrastructure necessary to maintain the internet’s functionality.
For instance, while the Cloud might conjure images of your vacation photos floating in the sky, they are actually stored on vast physical servers, likely housed in a secured warehouse.
Importantly, this concept of the internet excludes the physical equipment required to sustain it.
Naturally, including this infrastructure would result in a significantly heavier measurement than the weight that Russell Seitz computed.
Seitz determined that the internet’s weight is comparable to that of a strawberry, which is astonishing when you consider that all the data on the internet amounts to such a small mass.
But what exactly contributes to this weight?
Even though we might think of the internet as ethereal, it possesses a minuscule physical mass.
This mass is attributed to the electrons necessary for the internet’s operation, allowing us to stream videos, play games, and conduct online transactions.
Seitz’s calculation estimated the number of electrons needed to keep the internet functioning.
In an article from 2007, Seitz wrote in The Guardian: “An ampere is some 1018 electrons a second.
“Straightforward calculation reveals that some 50 grams of electrons in motion make up the internet.”
Whether 50 grams is substantial depends on the context. Fifty grams might be a handful of almonds but would be an immense number of grains of rice.
To make up 50 grams with electrons, you need an enormous quantity, given that an electron’s mass is 9.1×10^-31 kilograms.
In 2011, John D. Kubiatowicz, a computer science professor at the University of California, affirmed that information indeed has mass.
Using an e-book as an example, he noted that transistors trap electrons, and although the electron count remains constant, “The trapped electrons have a higher energy,” as quoted in AZO Quantum.
However, some individuals have called this weight ‘ridiculous.’ One skeptic on social media wrote, “Please elaborate. That is a ridiculous statement.”
Others highlighted that this calculation doesn’t consider the hardware essential for the internet’s operation.
One commenter stated, “Not counting all the machines and cables that’s needed to keep it running,” while another remarked, “I guess there is no hardware required to make up the Internet.”