Top 10 Fastest Supercomputers in the World

They control weapons systems and major research programs and have the ability to crunch numbers at unthinkable speeds.

The computer has become one of life’s must-haves, but the world’s supercomputers bear very little relation to even the most advanced domestic desktop.

Supercomputers are comprised of tens of thousands of processors working in conjunction, and these huge machines perform an amazing amount of calculations per second.

Courtesy of a new AIS infographic, here are the world’s top 10 fastest supercomputers.

1: Tianhe-2

Speed: 33.86 petaflop/s

Location: Guangzhou, China

Year Created: 2013

Its No. 1 purpose is to serve as an open research platform for researchers in southern China.

2: Titan

Speed: 17.59 petaflop/s

Location: Tennessee, USA

Year Created: 2012

Titan is used to study alternative and efficient energy, efficient engines, new materials and climate change.

3: IBM Sequoia

Speed: 17.173 petaflop/s

Location: California, USA

Year Created: 2013

Sequoia controls America’s nuclear weapons systems, keeping them secure and ready to launch at anytime.

4: K Computer

Speed: 5.168 petaflop/s

Location: Kobe, Japan

Year Created: 2013

Its main purpose is to research disaster prevention, climate change and meteorology.

5: Mira

Speed: 8.586 petaflop/s

Location: Illinois, USA

Year Created: 2013

The Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory uses Mira to study the evolution of the universe, explore climate change and design more efficient electric car batteries.

6: Stampede

Speed: 5.168 petaflop/s

Location: Texas, USA

Year Created: 2013

Stampede works to empower America’s scientists and engineers to interactively share computational resources, data and expertise.

7: JUQUEEN

Speed: 5.008 petaflop/s

Location: Julich, Germany

Year Created: 2012

JUQUEEN is used for computational science, engineering, physics, climatology and materials science.

8: Vulcan

Speed: 4.293 petaflop/s

Location: California, USA

Year Created: 2013

It carries out collaborative work with industry and research universities to advance science and technological innovation.

9: SuperMUC

Speed: 2.897 petaflop/s

Location: Garching, Germany

Year Created: 2012

Housed in the Leibniz Supercomputing Center, SuperMUC works on the following sciences: astrophysics; engineering and energy; chemistry and materials.

10: Tianhe-1A

Speed: 2.566 petaflop/s

Location: Tianjin, China

Year Created: 2010

This supercomputer is used to conduct research in petroleum exploration and solar energy. It also performs aircraft simulation.

Advancements in computing will be discussed at IDGA’s Government IT Reform summit in October. For full details, go to www.GovernmentITreform.com