"It" is the supercomputer. For the last decade, the world's top computer makers have been playing leap-frog with each other as they vie for the best performance ratings for their uber-machines.

Initially found in the realm of national research labs and industrial-development centers, supercomputers today have migrated to R&D departments in major automotive, pharmaceutical, and industrial circles. Perhaps one of the most well known supercomputers is IBM's BlueGene, which uses over 100,000 processors in its customized design. By comparison, one of the "slower" machines in the supercomputer category -- and ranking the speeds of these monsters is like comparing bolts of lightning -- uses roughly 400 processors.

So what do the most powerful supercomputers on the planet promise to do for you? Could they lead to discoveries that will end cancer and eliminate other diseases? Could they help social scientists figure out a solution to world peace through sophisticated conflict-resolution modeling? Could they help scientists to predict earthquakes and tsunamis with perfect certainty?

In a word, Yes.

"The largest of the supercomputers is close to replicating the power and capacity of the human brain," said Sanjeev Aggarwal, a Yankee Group senior analyst. The massive array of power harnessed into the "smartest" supercomputers in the world has already produced a number of benefits in everyday life.

Source of Inspiration

Would you believe supercomputers developed mainstream consumer necessities such as beer and soda bottles? They did indeed, said Jonathan Eunice, principal I.T. advisor for Illuminata. It was the analytical powers of a supercomputer that led to the most efficient design and cost-effective manufacturing processes, he said.

Gone are the days of a cartoonist slumped over an easel at a Hollywood studio. The production work on the world's most popular animated movies is done on a supercomputer. In fact, the intensity and sophistication of the special effects used in many of today's big-budget movies have far outpaced the ability of all machines but supercomputers.

Many new drugs are simulated first on supercomputers. Pharmaceutical researchers shave years of development time by running drug interaction simulations and conducting drug research on supercomputers, Eunice said, and that has translated into more-rapid discoveries at lower cost.

Hardly a major industrial innovation is not rendered first on supercomputers. Things like newer airplane designs, automobiles, and even lawnmowers all had their formative days spent inside supercomputers, and increased fuel economy and noise reduction have been two results. (continued...)

1  |  2  |  3  |  4  |  Next Page >