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President Obama Wants The U.S. To Build The World’s Fastest Computer

U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered the building of the world’s fastest computer by 2025.

The building of a superior supercomputer in the U.S. would send a clear challenge to China’s dominance in the computing world.

The machine is planned to be 20 times faster than the current top model - the Tianhe-2 which is housed in China’s National Computer Centre.

“The US has woken up to the fact that if it wants to remain in the race it will have to invest,” Mark Parsons at the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre (EPCC) told the BBC.

President Obama has signed an Executive Order to form the the National Strategic Computer Initiative (NSCI) which will develop the supercomputer.

An article on the White House website, explains how a more powerful computer would benefit the U.S. by enabling more analysis of an ever-increasing amount of data, particularly in medical research and diagnoses.

The analysis of ‘big data’ is increasingly important and will allow development in numerous fields including more accurate weather analysis and predictions, which could be used to limit damage and casualties in dangerous weather conditions.

It also suggested that NASA could use this kind of powerful computing technology to simulate turbulence for more effective aircraft design.

The technology could also be used to develop military vehicles that are more resistant to explosive devices.

“By strategically investing now, we can prepare for increasing computing demands and emerging technological challenges, building the foundation for sustained U.S. leadership for decades to come,” reads a statement from the White House.

(Image credit: AP)