CRI听力: China Makes A Supercomputer Surpassing 1,000 Trillion Calculations Per Second

A supercomputer indicates a computer that is at the frontline of current processing capacity, particularly in terms of computing speed.

Zhou Xingming, a scientist at the Changsha-based National Defense University, discusses the fascinating ability of the supercomputer.

"This supercomputer has superb capabilities of calculation and storage. Let me put it this way: If all the 1.3 billion Chinese population take a digital photo, the computer can store all their pictures."(www.hXen.com)

Beginning last year, the National Defense University has been designing the Tianhe-1 supercomputer using both civilian and military research institutes.

Zhang Yulin, president of the university, says the computer, which is designed for highly calculation-intensive tasks, will meet the needs of high-end scientific research and engineering designs, especially bio-medical and space projects.

Meanwhile, the high-performing computer will be secure and reliable as it can better defend hacker attacks.

Li Nan, a researcher of the supercomputer, explains.

"Tianhe-1 will be effective in defending against hacker attacks because its operating system is developed in China alone. The language and protocols of its CPU and buses are defined by Chinese scientists. So hackers can't understand and it's difficult for them to decipher."

The United States, Germany and other developed countries have long lead the way in the research and application of supercomputers. In recent years, developing countries, like India and South Korea, have begun to catch up in this sector. China joined this trend in 1983, when it made a supercomputer capable of 100 million calculations per second.

Yingying, CRI news.