What is Supercomputer

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A very powerful computer that can process large amounts of data at enormous speeds Learn more in: A Virtual Reality System for Learning Science in a Science Center

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A supercomputer is a computer that is at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly speed of calculation. Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks such as problems involving quantum physics, weather forecasting, climate research, molecular modeling and physical simulation. Learn more in: Multi-Threaded Architectures: Evolution, Costs, Opportunities

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Is a computer system capable of executing large number of operations, comprising a massive number of processors and large shared or distributed memory. The processors are running in parallel and are able to exchange the data, thus making possible to achieve high computing power, which is usually measured in the number of floating point operations being executed in one second. The required computer power for a system to be designated as a supercomputer is time-dependent, and is usually defined through a list of most powerful systems in the world, such as Top500 (top500.org), where only a limited number of systems (e.g. first 500) at any given time are considered to be supercomputers. As of 2013, petaflops-capable systems are classified as supercomputers, and in the coming years this will shift towards exaflop-capable systems. Learn more in: High Performance and Grid Computing Developments and Applications in Condensed Matter Physics