What does a computer that can perform 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 (18 zeroes,
or one quintillion) operations per second mean to the home or office user of
digital technology, or even to the average IT professional for that matter?
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This landmark performance was achieved last June by
Frontier, jointly built by AMD, HPE Cray, and Oak Ridge, recognized as being
the fastest supercomputer in the world. Cray is the company known to have made
the first supercomputer in 1976. It could do a “humble” 240 million
calculations per second.
First there is the aura, the attraction of extreme
numbers, whether large or small. It is always a thrill, for example, to hear
that some distant stars are already dead, but were so far from us in the
universe that we have not seen them yet because even travelling at the speed of
light, their light takes years to reach us. Often when we see such stars, they
just do not exist anymore.
Many feel the same emotion, the same attraction,
when speaking of infinitesimal, subatomic and short-lived particles, such as
quarks or bosons, whose life span is a hard to imagine: 10 to the power minus
18 of a second. All things that are infinitely larger or smaller than our
regular dimensions fascinate us, even if we do not deal with them.
The performance of the supercomputers has the same
effect on us, even if we cannot translate it in practical terms or visualize it
in any way. It certainly is not going to enhance our Internet browsing
experience, eject the paper from our printer any faster, or extend the life of our
laptop computer battery. And yet, at some level and at some point in time, well
beyond the thrill, the glitz, and the mind-titillation, there are tangible
benefits.
Scientific research is the prime field where
supercomputers are needed. There may be a limited number of places in the world
where the machines can be put to good use and that can afford to operate them.
These would be research centers and some top-tier universities.
Number crunching, as it is known in mathematics, is
one of the main applications of supercomputers. All this often leads to useful,
practical results that can then be applied and utilized in real life.
Examples abound, but here is one that dates back to
2014, and was reported by New Scientist: “Supercomputers make discoveries that
scientists can’t. In May last year, a supercomputer in San Jose, California,
read 100,000 research papers in 2 hours. It found completely new biology hidden
in the data.”
There is little doubt, for instance, that sophisticated medical imaging equipment, like MRI and PET scanners, were made available and affordable to us thanks to ultrafast computer technology and advanced scientific research.
A weather forecast that extends beyond 15 days is
only possible thanks to the power of the ultra-fast machines. Indeed, such a
forecast requires the analysis of a quantity of data that only they can process
in the short time that is available in such context.
Other fields of application are “brute force code
breaking” (i.e., the deciphering and breaking of complex passwords), as well as
3D nuclear test simulations, as a digital and therefore safe substitute for
conducting harmful real-life nuclear tests.
Experimentation in extreme fields sometimes ends up
with inventions that we then find in everyday applications. This is not
specific to computers, but can be found in other domains as well.
ABS brakes that are now a common feature in every
vehicle on the street came from designs first made in Formula One car racing.
Sooner or later, the expensive techniques and
designs in supercomputing will be found, albeit on a smaller scale, in personal
computers and perhaps even in smartphones. Besides, AMD, mentioned above as one
of the makers of the Frontier, is a major manufacturer of graphic cards for
personal computers and laptops. There is no doubt that its participation in the
Frontier project will give it additional experience and insight to design and
make available to the wide public even more advanced graphics electronics.
However, supercomputers are extremely power hungry.
Typically, they need about four megawatts to run – as much as 700,000 laptops!
Environmentalists are the first to criticize them for such a gigantic carbon
footprint. They ask if it makes sense to pollute the planet so much just to
achieve fast calculations and eventually make scientific advancement and
progress from time to time. This is debatable.
There is little doubt, for instance, that
sophisticated medical imaging equipment, like MRI and PET scanners, were made
available and affordable to us thanks to ultrafast computer technology and
advanced scientific research.
If you are fascinated by what supercomputers can do
and feel frustrated for not having one at home, take heart. Just look at the
laptop on your desk: it is as powerful as the supercomputers of the 1990s.
Therefore, in a way, you do own a supercomputer after all, even if a bit
outdated.
Jean-Claude Elias is a computer engineer and a classically
trained pianist and guitarist. He has been regularly writing IT articles, reviewing
music albums, and covering concerts for more than 30 years.
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