Amazon is slowly working on a way to block out the sun

A millionaire investigating plans to lower the Sun may sound like something out of a classic “The Simpsons” episode, but Jeff Bezos appears to be doing just that.

According to Gizmodo, Bezos’ megaretailer Amazon has teamed up with the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the geoengineering NGO SilverLining to help construct simulations that demonstrate what would happen if some of the Sun’s rays were shut out.

More specifically, the corporation is contributing 30 distinct simulations of Earth’s future climate using its powerful computer processors. Humans have artificially pumped particles into the atmosphere in one of the simulated worlds to limit sunlight, substantially cooling the planet in the process.

Clouds within a Cloud

Climate modeling frequently necessitates the use of pricey supercomputers. This is where Amazon’s collaboration comes in, allowing climate scientists to leverage the company’s cloud computing technology.

Kelly Wanser, the executive director of SilverLining, told Gizmodo, “Cloud computing has started to reach the stage where it could fathom supporting workloads like this.” “And so you’ve reached this tipping point where the underlying technology is advanced enough, and the question is: can you break the adoption stalemate and get this stuff running in the cloud?” “And then what happens if you do?” says the narrator.

Solar Radiation Control

While this seems frightening, there are a lot of benefits to Amazon devoting resources to this cause. For one thing, relatively little research has been done on the entire effects of solar radiation management, which is a phrase for a means of cooling the Earth by restricting sunlight.

Because catastrophic climate change appears to be becoming more likely every year, the technique could be useful in preventing future calamities. However, it has the potential to cause a slew of problems on its own, emphasizing the importance of the investigation.