China’s Supercomputer: “Exascale” is on the brink of completion

The “Exascale” supercomputer has the capacity to execute 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 calculations per second! Realistically the machine does not yet exist, but the possibility for a fully functional one will turn apparent in a few months, according to the National Supercomputer of China.

According to the researchers

Zhang Ting from the National Supercomputer Center in China recently gave a statement to Xinhua saying,

“A complete computing system of the exascale supercomputer and its applications can … be expected in 2020, and will be 200 times more powerful than the country’s first petaflop computer Tianhe-1, recognized as the world’s fastest in 2010.”

The latest Sunway TaihuLight, on the other hand, has reached 124.5 petaflops, surpassing the existing Tianhe 1 and 2 (100 petaflops).

When the calculation is close to infinite …

The soon to be revealed Exascale supercomputer will be named “Tianhe-3” that can execute 1 quintillion calculation per second.

FYI, the quintillion unit of measurement is used to calculate the Earth’s mass or the number of molecules existing within the human brain.

Where does the USA stand with respect to China?

The USA is also working on their own Exascale supercomputer, but their perfect prototype will not appear until 2023. The Department of Energy believes its invention can change the whole game in the research industry once it’s fully functioning. Its website stated,

“At 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 calculations per second, exascale supercomputers will be able to quickly analyze massive volumes of data and more realistically simulate the complex processes and relationships behind many of the fundamental forces of the Universe.”

The stakes will get higher for the USA if China releases its “Exascale” first. With two of its already existing supercomputers, the former nation must gear up for survival.

Image Source: Huffington Post

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