Britain's fastest supercomputer unveiled

January 14, 2008 (Reuters) -- A supercomputer that could help answer some of science's biggest questions is being unveiled today.

With the power of 12,000 desktop PCs, the mammoth machine called Hector is the U.K.'s fastest computer and one of the most powerful in Europe. It can make 63 trillion calculations each second, allowing scientists to conduct research into everything from climate change to new medicines.

The machine is housed in 60 wardrobe-sized cabinets in the University of Edinburgh's advanced computing center near the Scottish capital. After years of development, Chancellor Alistair Darling is due to attend the official launch ceremony for the machine, which cost £113 million.

Hector, which stands for High-End Computing Terascale Resource, was made U.S. manufacturer Cray Inc.

"Hector will enable us to do research that we simply could not do in any other way," said Jane Nicholson, a researcher at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the public body that acts as the project's managing agent. "We want to push forward the boundaries of knowledge."

Researchers plan to tap into the computer's power to study ocean currents, build tiny parts for advanced computers and make warplanes less visible to radar. Other projects include research into superconductors, combustion engines and new materials. Scientists working in fields ranging from cosmology and atomic physics to disaster simulation and health care will also use the computer.

Despite its vast power, Hector falls short of the power produced by the world's biggest computer: Blue Gene/L. Housed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, Blue Gene is used to study nuclear weapons without the need for underground testing.

Editing by Steve Addison.

Reprinted with permission from

This article is reprinted by permission from Reuters.com, Copyright (c) 2006 Reuters. Reuters content is the intellectual property of Reuters or its third-party content providers. Any copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. For additional information on other Reuters Services, visit the Reuters public Web site.