History of Computers - Supercomputers
Peter Buckman
Introduction
A supercomputer is a type of computer that can do levels of calculations significantly higher than our normal computers today. Their history starts back in the 1960's, with the development of the Atlas by Ferranti and the University of Manchester and the CDC 6600 created by Seymour Cray in 1964.[1] These computers; however, have been significantly dwarfed by the computational abilities of computers nowadays, which are helping us solve some of the mysteries of the universe.
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/125271-the-history-of-supercomputers
Overview
In a "normal" computer today, most instructions are processed through serial processing, which means that the CPU will work on the problems by solving one part of the problem, then solving the next, then the next. The difference between these computers and supercomputers is that supercomputers can solve problems using parallel processing, where they can split up a problem into many different parts, and assign each of these parts into different processors. This way, a solution can be reached through comparing the final results of all these sections, allowing a supercomputer to solve more difficult questions. The fastest supercomputer in the world, the Tianhe-2, consists of 3,120,000 cores, or individual processors.[2] This difference in computing power can also be seen through the use of different performance units of each type. While an ordinary computer's performance is usually judged by millions of instructions per second (MIPS), a super computer's is measured in floating point operations per second (FLOPS). Nowadays, the fastest supercomputers run at greater than one petaflop, or 1,000,000,000,000,000 floatation point operations per second.[3]
http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/12/titan-supercomputer-leads-latest-top-500-list-as-newly-available/
Significance
Supercomputers are significant today, since they help us solve complicated problems, run simulations, or do analysis on situations. Currently, the Cray Titan supercomputer, the second fastest supercomputer in the world, is being used to run detailed simulations on the Earth's climate, which could help us on how to limit global warming.[4] These computers are also being used for quantum physics and to model molecular substances. In short, these computers help us with the most difficult questions in our universe and represent the epitome of years of work in data-processing.
Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercomputer
