Tuesday, 10 Jun, 2008 Technology

Scientists developed the world's fastest computer that is able to perform 1,000 trillion operations per second.

The computer, called RoadRunner, is twice as fast the previous fastest computer IBM's Blue Gene system, which was considered to be the fastest supercomputer, being three times faster than other supercomputers in the world. The RoadRunner was developed by the engineers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, US, and IBM Corp. from 13,000 of computer chips.

RoadRunner is the world's first petaflop computer, meaning that it can perform 1,000 trillion operations per second. The daily performance of the computer can be compared to the calculations made by 6 billion people using a hand-held computer 24 hours a day for 46 years.

It took more than six years to develop a computer technology like this. Built from computer chips used in popular video game PlayStation 3 and 12,960 cell engines, it can boast 80 terabytes of memory. The interconnecting system takes 6,000 square feet, having 57 miles of fiber optics and weighs 500,000 pounds.

The supercomputer will be used for nuclear weapons research, but will have a numerous applications in medicine and science, engineering and other fields. It has a great potential to help in developing biofuels, new drug therapies and even vaccine for the HIV virus, solving global energy tasks and find a clue to the origins of the universe.

The RoadRunner is now placed at the IBM research laboratory in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., but will be moved to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, where it will be initially tested for unclassified work and later used for nuclear weapons work and other government activities.

Powered by www.infoniac.com