Supercomputers have the most processing power of computers available. They are designed to perform large amounts of numeric computation quickly. They are a class of computers designed for extremely high performance.
Initially, the term supercomputer only applied to the larger mainframe machines, today, the term also includes parallel processing machines.
Technologies that are vital to supercomputers include thermodynamics, surface analysis, mathematics, material science, device physics, very large scale integrated circuits, sophisticated manufacturing technology, robotics, computer-aided design software and etc.
In other worlds, the supercomputer is the result of a vast spectrum of interdisciplinary research and advanced development work.
They are primarily designed for high speed computation, especially for scientific research or the defense industry, but their use is growing rapidly in business as supercomputer prices decrease.
Some applications require extraordinary speed, accuracy and processing capabilities - such as sending astronaut into space, controlling missile guidance systems and satellites, forecasting the weather, exploring for oil, and assisting with some kinds of scientific research.
The first supercomputer is generally considered to be the Control Data CDC 6600, designed by Seymour Cray in 1964. From CDC 66000, to a wave of new machines by Cray Research in the 1970s, and early 1980s, supercomputing expanded possibilities for modeling the Department of Defends nuclear war scenario, weather forecasting and other areas requiring extensive processing power.
How to define supercomputers?
