Things that you don't know about Internet

It was born 40 years ago, in a lab at the University of California, Los Angeles. Today it wraps the entire planet and features in the daily routine of more than 1.5 billion people.

1: Who controls the internet?

The official answer is no one, but it is a half-truth that few swallow. If all nations are equal online, the US is more equal than others.

2: Could the net become self-aware?

Yes, if we play our cards right – or wrong, depending on your perspective. In engineering terms, it is easy to see qualitative similarities between the human brain and the internet’s complex network of nodes, as they both hold, process, recall and transmit information.

3: How big is the net?

In 2008, Google announced that its systems had registered a trillion unique pages.One thing’s for sure: the internet and its contents will continue to grow rapidly.

4: Is there only one Internet?

There are also a few large networks that use different protocols and which remain largely isolated from the internet, including something called FidoNet, which links bulletin board systems via the global telephone network, as well as a handful of military networks. The main internet is the only one of any significant size, as far as we know.

5: Where is the net's dark corners? 

There are plenty of places online that you would do well to steer clear of. A brief visit to some unsavoury websites, for instance, could leave your computer infected with worms or viruses. Then there are the “black holes” to worry about.

6: Is the net hurting the environment?

Sending an email across the Atlantic Ocean does not burn any jet fuel, but the internet is not without its own, huge carbon footprint. One estimate suggests it takes a whopping 152 billion kilowatt-hours per year just to power the data centres that keep the net running. Add to that the energy used by all the computers and peripherals linked to it and the whole thing could be responsible for as much as 2 per cent of all human-made CO2emissions, putting it on a par with the aviation industry.

7: Can we shut the net down?

Almost certainly not.


This article is taken from https://www.newscientist.com/round-up/unknown-internet/