This passage is all about Super Computer An Engineering Marvels. To know more about super computer definition and its meaning go through this passage.
Super Computer An Engineering Marvels
There is a little doubt in believing that post the arrival of computers, life has become easier for humans. Computers have tremendously improved the living standards of people. And, further advancement of technology, that is, the invention of supercomputers, has revolutionised the world of science and technology.
A super computer is a computer or an array of computers that acts as one collective machine capable of processing enormous amounts of data. It is very expensive and is employed for specialised applications that require immense amounts of calculations like weather forecasting, nuclear energy research, etc.
Although both desktop computers and supercomputers are equipped with similar processors, their speed and memory sizes are significantly different. The super computer’s large number of processors, enormous disk storage and substantial memory greatly increase the power and speed of the machine. Although desktop computers can perform millions of floating-point operations per second (megaflops), supercomputers can perform at speeds of billions of operations per second (gigaflops) and trillions of operations per second (teraflops).
One of the first supercomputers, Cray-1 was developed by the Cray Research in the mid 1970s. The Cray-1 was capable of computing at 167 megaflops, which at that time was quite a high speed. Contemporary vector processing supercomputers are much faster than the Cray-1, but an ultimately faster method of supercomputing was introduced in the mid-198os-parallel processing. Applications that use parallel processing are able to solve computational problems by simultaneously using multiple processors. Supercomputers provide researchers with insight into phenomena that are too small, too big, too fast or too slow to observe in laboratories.
For example, astrophysicists use supercomputers as time machines to explore the past and future of our universe. A simulation on Blue Horizon, a parallel supercomputer, depicted the collision of two galaxies—our own Milky Way and Andromeda. Another example of supercomputers at work is molecular dynamics, which in-depth, is difficult to perform in laboratories. IBM’s Roadrunner is the fastest supercomputer in the world. India’s supercomputer programme started in late igtios because
Cray supercomputers were denied for import due to an arms embargo imposed on India, as it was a dual-use technology and could be used for developing weapons. Param 8000 is considered India’s first supercomputer, built-in 1990 by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing.
PRITHVI, PARAM Yuva-II, I Data Plex DX36oM4 are some of the 9 Indian systems that rank in the Top 500 list.
According to the November 2013’s comparison, USA leads with a 52.8% share in the top 500 list of supercomputers followed by China with a 12.6% share. India holds a 2.4% share in the list.
Research centres are constantly delving into developing newer applications of super computers. Advanced brain research is another modern application of super computers. Neuro-scientists use it to look at the physiological structure of the brain.
Unquestionably, super computers have led supercomputers researches and discoveries and can be unmistakably called the future of the world.
