Podcast: Science Friday Looks at the World's Fastest Supercomputer

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In this podcast from NPR’s Science Friday program, Horst Simon from LBNL and Rick Stevens from ANL discuss the recent news that the Chinese have once again built the world’s fastest supercomputer.

China’s “Tianhe-2” (Milky Way 2) supercomputer took first place in one recent speed test, clocking in at 30 quadrillion calculations per second—about twice as fast as the best American machines. The U.S. still has more supercomputers than any other nation, but some experts say computer speed is a measure of a country’s scientific innovation, and worry the U.S. is lagging behind.