Supercomputers

Backplane wiring of the CDC 7600 supercomputer

The wiring was done by hand and had to be precise to within a fraction of an inch to optimize the speed of the machine.

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The Fastest Brains for the Biggest Problems

Super is relative. Every era has supercomputers, but the definition shifts as technology advances. Today’s supercomputers may be tomorrow’s PCs.

Supercomputers tackle the most calculation-intense problems, such as predicting weather, codebreaking and designing nuclear bombs. Early supercomputers were one-of-a-kind machines for the government or military—the only customers who could afford it.