HECToR
A normal calculator needs only ten ‘flops’ for the calculation to appear instantaneous to the user. HECToR (High-End Computing Terascale Resources), the UK’s latest supercomputer based at the University of Edinburgh, operates at speeds of up to 60 ‘teraflops’ – the equivalent of 60 million million calculations per second. By October 2009 that figure will be upgraded to 250 teraflop per second.

To compete with HECToR, every person on earth would have to simultaneously carry out 10,000 calculations. As one of the largest and most advanced supercomputers in Europe, this UK Research Council facility will keep scientists at the forefront of their research fields.

Compact processing power
Built using Cray Inc.’s XT4 hybrid supercomputer, HECToR is in fact 11,328 computers working in parallel. Professor Arthur Trew, Director of the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC), explains, ‘the machine itself is only about 2000 to 2500 square feet. These microprocessors are so fast that in the time it takes them to finish one task, light travels about three feet. There is a huge effort being put into making the machine as compact as possible so signals can transfer as quickly as possible’.

Scientific applications
HECToR has only been performing for around six months so it’s early days for results. Professor Trew describes the range of science HECToR facilitates, ‘from theoretical particle physics at one extreme through to designing new materials. Chemists are using it to simulate new reactions. Engineering applications include modeling the airflow path over the surface of an aeroplane or the frame of a car to reduce drag and therefore fuel consumption. Environmental simulations will help to understand the effects of climate change and global warming.’

HECToR’s sheer power means it is incredibly popular. ‘It's filling up fast,’ says Trew. ‘It is a very expensive machine. Getting time to use it is very valuable so getting access to the machine is subject to scientific rigour. You have to make a scientific case.’

But HECToR is not an end in itself. ‘We would like to be able to come back and say “this is the science it did”. That's the real point of it all, it's the science that's important.’