Supercomputers

Supercomputers are the fastest, most powerful computers designed to tackle complex problems requiring vast amounts of computer time. Two types of supercomputer exist. One type has several extremely complex and expensive processors that carry out computations serially, one at a time. Performing billions of operations per second, they are being overshadowed by a second type called massively parallel supercomputing. This system has thousands of simple, inexpensive processors connected in parallel. A computational problem is divided into parts, with portions assigned simultaneously to various processors. The individual processors calculate subtotals and send them to a central processor for combining.

Fastest Supercomputer in the World:

Built from microchips originally destined for games consoles, Roadrunner is the world’s fastest and latest supercomputer.

As an indication of how fast this is, manufacturers explained that if 6 billion people were to do one sum a second on calculator, it would take 46 years to do what RoadRunner could do in a day. The world’s first supercomputer, the Cray 1 built in the mid-1970s, would take 1,500 years to finish a calculation that Roadrunner would perform in two hours.