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For decades, supercomputers have helped scientists perform calculations that would not have been possible on regular computers of that time. Not only has the construction of supercomputers helped push the envolope of what is possible within the computing field, but the calculations supercomputers have performed for us have helped further both science and technology, and ultimately our lives. This post pays tribute to some of the most powerful supercomputers the world has seen, all the way from the 1970s until today. Cray-1 The first Cray computer was developed by a team lead by the legendary Seymor Cray. It was a freon-cooled 64-bit system running at 80 MHz with 8 megabytes of RAM. Careful use of vector instructions could yield a peak performance of 250 megaflops. Together with its freon cooling system, the first model of the Cray-1 (Cray-1A) weighed 5.5 tons and was delivered to the Los Alamos National ... (Read Full Article)