The government has announced that it will spend more than $400 million to build two new supercomputers that will achieve astronomical data processing speeds, making them the fastest computers ever built by humans. The supercomputers are set to eclipse China's Tianhe-2, which currently holds the record for the most powerful supercomputer (nearly 55 Petaflops).
Summit, which will be built by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will theoretically be able to reach 300 Petaflops, although its normal performance will be closer to 150 Petaflops. As for Sierra, it will be built by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and will be able to handle data at speeds of up to 100 Petaflops.
To understand what unimaginable amounts we are talking about, consider that one Petaflop essentially means the ability of a computer system to perform 1 quadrillion calculations per second! Indicative of the importance and capabilities of the 2 aforementioned supercomputers is that Titan, which is currently the most powerful computer system installed in the U.S., can only reach 1/10 of the capabilities of Summit!
These specific projects will be implemented in collaboration with Nvidia and IBM and when completed, Summit will be used to manage complex and demanding projects related to the healthcare sector, while Sierra will be used in military applications related to the effectiveness of nuclear energy and the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Source: digitallife.gr
