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Introduction
Supercomputer refers to any extremely powerful and fast data processing-oriented computer which is capable of manipulating massive amount of data in a relatively short time and is measured in hundreds of billions of gigaflops ( numbers of mathematical operations involving decimal fraction the computer can handle in one second). It is a computer that leads the world in terms of processing capacity and speed of calculation. Supercomputers are very expensive and cost up to hundreds of million dollars. Supercomputers are designed to perform calculations as fast as possible and are used to solve extremely complex problems; to design automobiles, aircraft, and spacecraft; to forecast the weather and global climate; to design new drugs and chemical compounds; and to make calculations that help scientists understand the properties of particles that make up atoms as well as the behavior and evolution of stars and galaxies. Supercomputers are also used extensively by the military for weapons and defense systems research, and for encrypting and decoding sensitive intelligence information.
History
The first supercomputer was introduced in the 1960s, designed by Seymour Cray at Control Date Corporation. He led the market into the 1970s until he left to form his own company. In the 1980s, many small competitors entered the market but disappeared in the mid-1990s “supercomputer crash”. Today, supercomputers are typically one-of-a-kind custom designs produced by "traditional" companies such as Cray, IBM and HP, who had purchased many of the 1980s companies to gain their experience.
Technologies
Technologies that are used in supercomputers include:
• Vector p ...