2. Livermore's nuclear computer

Posted on 15 Apr 2009 at 11:33

It's an in-joke among high-performance computing labs: no-one spends millions on a supercomputer to win the top 500 race, but it's a pleasant surprise if they do (we didn't say it was a good joke). This year, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California will install the Sequoia supercomputer, which will run at 20 petaflops and easily take the number one spot.

The exceptional speed will assist in simulating nuclear tests. In an interesting twist, the simulations - which predict how atoms will react in a nuclear explosion - have uncovered unique "phenomena", proving how computers have a powerful ability to show virtual data in extremely high resolution.

Next: 3. Alcatel-Lucent 3D IPTV

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Author: John Brandon