TOKYO - A Japanese supercomputer used to analyze climate patterns has topped the list of the world's fastest computers.
The NEC Earth Simulator is nearly five times faster than its closest rival, according to University of Tennessee computer science Prof. Jack Dongarra.
Dongarra, who maintains an authoritative list of the world's fastest computers, will present the findings at a supercomputing conference in Germany in June.
The world's fastest computer is as large as three tennis courts. Dongarra said it works at a speed of 35,600 gigaflops, or billions of mathematical operations a second.
He added that the top supercomputer on the November, 2001, list was IBM's ASCI White, which ran at a speed of 7,226 gigaflops.
The Earth Simulator is installed at the Yokohama Institute for Earth Sciences, west of Tokyo. Its supercomputing power is used to calculate complex equations for predicting typhoons, earthquakes and other severe weather patterns.
The NEC Earth Simulator is nearly five times faster than its closest rival, according to University of Tennessee computer science Prof. Jack Dongarra.
Dongarra, who maintains an authoritative list of the world's fastest computers, will present the findings at a supercomputing conference in Germany in June.
The world's fastest computer is as large as three tennis courts. Dongarra said it works at a speed of 35,600 gigaflops, or billions of mathematical operations a second.
He added that the top supercomputer on the November, 2001, list was IBM's ASCI White, which ran at a speed of 7,226 gigaflops.
The Earth Simulator is installed at the Yokohama Institute for Earth Sciences, west of Tokyo. Its supercomputing power is used to calculate complex equations for predicting typhoons, earthquakes and other severe weather patterns.
