Super Computers And Uses

Let's talk about supercomputers today. From the essential and simple desktop to the ultra-sleek portable laptop and designated server machines, there are different types of computing machines used in various roles. Indeed the evolution of computers shows how a once complex and huge machine became a machine for the masses, a necessary part of every household and office. The earlier impression of computers in people's minds was a very smart, capable-of-doing-anything machine that could churn out data and information in minutes. But such computers are not urban legends. They do exist and are in fact, called supercomputers.

So what are supercomputers? They work on the principle of doing large amounts of work in minimum time. Supercomputers are capable of performing operations in minutes and seconds, that would take a team of even high-end machines, days or weeks or more realistically, months to perform. They are also super in terms of maintenance and need large rooms all to themselves, along with extremely cool temperature surroundings. They consume a lot of power and have a very high processing speed, due to their large number of microprocessors. Supercomputers are used in situations, where a large amount of data needs to be processed in a small time span, with rendering and modeling operations performed simultaneously.

What Research Says

• Supercomputers are used in solving complex equations such as in quantum physics and mechanics.
• With military aircraft and machinery, supercomputers can simulate aerodynamics at work and model flight patterns to aid in the development of better machinery.
• Nuclear research needs testing but instead of live detonations, supercomputers can help simulate nuclear explosions and reactions that help advance the reach of nuclear technology.
• Proteins are a very important biological component and their molecular structure is 3-dimensional in orientation. One fold or overlap of a molecular strand and the protein's working or function in the body can change. Diseases such as Alzheimer's and cystic fibrosis are linked to such folding of proteins, so understanding the nature of defective proteins and how normal proteins fold, is the key to learning why such diseases occur and how to cure them. Simulation of the folding operation of proteins is a very complex and computation filled task, once again a job for supercomputers.
• The flow of blood, its path and journey, speed and various difficulties that could occur, can be simulated with rendering done by a supercomputer. This is again of great medical use, as blood functioning in those blood disorders and illnesses can be compared with regular blood functioning to understand the complete spectrum of difference.
• Supercomputers also aid research and studies in the field of fluid dynamics or deep inside the Earth's core exploration. They can also create complex animated models of molecular structures of various chemical and biological compounds and crystals.

The above-detailed uses of supercomputers demonstrate the usefulness of such machines in crucial tasks as well as aiding in discovery and carrying out research in various fields of knowledge. With each leap and bound taken by man in the arena of technology, today's supercomputer can easily end up as tomorrow's desktop!