Most of us leave our computers sitting idle for hours every day. What if some of that unused processing power could help search for new pulsars, model climate systems, or support medical research?
That’s the idea behind distributed computing projects such as BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing). BOINC is a free platform that lets volunteers donate spare computing power from their PCs, laptops, and Android devices to scientific research projects. When your device isn’t busy, it downloads small chunks of work, processes them, and sends the results back to researchers.
Basically, it acts like one giant virtual supercomputer built from thousands of volunteer machines around the world. Not every research lab can buy expensive computing hardware, so turning to volunteers who can contribute tiny pieces of computing time accomplishes the same thing at no cost to the labs themselves.
There are plenty of projects to choose from. Some study astronomy and search for signals from deep space, while others tackle climate modeling, disease research, mathematics, or particle physics. With BOINC, you can pick the causes that interest you the most and decide how much of your computer’s resources you’re willing to share.
If you’d rather contribute with your own free time instead of your processor, NASA’s Citizen Science projects are worth exploring. These programs invite anyone to help classify galaxies, identify clouds on Mars, track wildlife, analyze images, and assist with real scientific research. In many cases, human pattern recognition still beats computers.
Sure, your PC won’t cure cancer overnight and you won’t discover a new planet every week. But it’s a simple way to meaningfully contribute to research from your desk, couch, or wherever you happen to be working.
Sometimes helping science is as easy as leaving a browser tab open or letting your computer do a little extra work while you sleep.
For more fun and helpful website and app recommendations, be sure to subscribe to our PCWorld Try This newsletter.