Beijing, Nov 14 (AFP) China now has more high-performancesupercomputers than ever before, again besting the UnitedStates in global rankings, a supercomputer trackingorganisation said.
The standing corresponds with China's growing reputationas the global leader in supercomputers, as the Asian powerprepares to launch in June 2018 a prototype exascale computingmachine -- a "super supercomputer".
Some 202 of the world's fastest supercomputers are inChina -- compared with 143 in the US -- according to Top500, asite that has tracked supercomputer development for more thantwo decades.
The list, produced twice a year, rates supercomputersbased on speed in a benchmark test by experts from Germany andthe US.
"It is the largest number of supercomputers China hasever claimed on the Top500 ranking," the survey said onMonday, "with the US presence shrinking to its lowest levelsince the list's inception."Supercomputers are vital tools for advanced scientificwork because of their ability to perform rapid calculationsfor everything from weather forecasts to missile development.
China has not only overtaken the US in sheer numbers, butalso in aggregate performance. Two of the fastest machines onthe list -- the Sunway TaihuLight and Tianhe-2 (Milkyway-2) --are in China.
Located at China's national supercomputer centre in theeastern city of Wuxi, the Sunway TaihuLight is used forclimate modelling and life science research.
Taking the third and fourth slots on the performance listare supercomputers from Switzerland and Japan, respectively,while the American "Titan" sits at fifth.
The US led with 169 systems to China's 160 just sixmonths ago, but its performance fell while China's improved ina "reversal of fortunes", the survey said. However, itremained well ahead of third-place Japan, which has 35machines on the list.
China surpassed the US in the Top500 list for the firsttime in 2016.
If China successfully develops a super supercomputerprototype this coming summer, it will take the lead in aninternational race to a build a system capable of onequintillion (a billion billion) calculations per second. (AFP)PMS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.