UNITED STATES, November 18, 2008: For years, Western governments have used supercomputers to model weapons of nuclear war. But now their uses have become more civilian and are indicative of a nation’s investment in technology.
Supercomputers, which are up to a million times faster than the typical desktop PC, still exist mostly in the United States, Japan and Western Europe. But over the last few years, the falling cost of supercomputer systems has allowed a broader range of corporations and institutions, including many in China and India, to buy them for everything from processing movie graphics to searching for oil.
Just 18 months ago, China and India lacked a single system among the 25 fastest in the world. But on the latest list of the 500 fastest computers, released Monday, China nailed the No. 10 spot. India, meanwhile, had the 13th-fastest machine, beating Japan, a longtime leader.