The Roadrunner computer is a U.S. Military supercomputer that processes over 1.026 quadrillion calculations per second.The New York Times: Military Supercomputer Sets Record (June 8, 2008)
The supercomputer is made from parts that were originally designed for video game machines, but it will be used by the military to solve issues related to the nation's stockpile of nuclear weapons.The New York Times: Military Supercomputer Sets Record (June 8, 2008)
Roadrunner Design
The Roadrunner computer's design is based on 12,960 chips that are an improvement on IBM's Cell microprocessor. The chips were originally designed for Sony's PlayStation 3.
Roadrunner and Nuclear Weapons
Due to its speed, the computer will be used by the military to simulate what will happen in the first fraction of a second after a nuclear weapon explodes. The military intends on using the computer to help solve classified military problems.The New York Times: Military Supercomputer Sets Record (June 8, 2008)
By simulating the nuclear explosions, the military could avoid conducting underground nuclear testing.NNSA: IBM Selected to Build New DOE Supercomputer (September 6, 2006)
References
Fast Facts
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FLOPS
FLoating point Operations Per Second, "petaflops" equals one quadrillion or 1×1015 FLOPS
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Built by IBM for the U.S. Department of Energy
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Twice as fast as the IBM Blue Gene/L
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Cost
$133 million
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Named after the state bird of New Mexico
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Will also be used by scientists to explore problems like climate change
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Build at Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico
