US President Barack Obama has just signed an Executive Order calling on the country to create the world's fastest supercomputer by the year 2025.
The goal is for the machine to rival China's Tianhe-2 (Milky Way 2) which currently resides in the National University of Defense in Guangzhou. The Milky Way is capable of computing 34 or 55 petaflops per second. The US' proposed machine is aiming for 1 exaflop, the equivalent of a staggering 1,000 petaflops. To put things in perspective that's about one quintillion calculations per second.
The machine would be used to perform complex simulations, aid scientific research, and contribute to national defense projects. In addition, the new computer may be used to aid NASA to design and develop better aircraft without the need for wind tunnel testing due to its ability to model turbulence.
A statement on the White House's official blog further discusses the project's aims:
Today, President Obama issued an Executive Order establishing the National Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI) to ensure the United States continues leading in this field over the coming decades. This coordinated research, development, and deployment strategy will draw on the strengths of departments and agencies to move the Federal government into a position that sharpens, develops, and streamlines a wide range of new 21st century applications. It is designed to advance core technologies to solve difficult computational problems and foster increased use of the new capabilities in the public and private sectors.
According to Extremetech, the proposed machine would be faster than the 500 current fastest computers in the world combined. The US has the most entries on the list, with 233 of the 500 supercomputers, followed by Europe's 141. China has 37, down from 61 in last year's edition.
