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A supercomputer is an exceptionally powerful computer designed to perform complex calculations and process massive amounts of data at extremely high speeds, far exceeding the capacity of a general-purpose computer. These systems use parallel processing, linking thousands of processors (CPUs and GPUs) to work on different parts of a problem simultaneously, rather than sequentially.

Key Characteristics

Exceptional Processing Power: Supercomputers' performance is measured in FLOPS (Floating-point Operations Per Second), typically in the petaFLOPS (a thousand trillion calculations per second) or exaFLOPS range, compared to a standard PC's gigaFLOPS or teraFLOPS.

Parallel Architecture: They consist of multiple interconnected compute nodes, each containing processors and memory blocks, which collaborate to solve a single complex problem.

Massive Memory and Storage: They feature very large, high-speed memory and storage capacities to support rapid data retrieval and analysis for demanding tasks.

Specialized Infrastructure: Due to their size and power consumption, they require dedicated facilities with sophisticated cooling systems to manage the immense heat generated.