The Importance of Computing Power

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Scientists are trying to understand zoonosis, how pathogens sit nascent in animal reservoirs. When those viruses get into other species that are not ready for them, like us, that leads to disease. COVID-19 is one example of that. The idea that this virus could go from flying foxes to horses, and then horses to humans? I mean, this could potentially wipe out populations.

Last May, the Oak Ridge National Lab, run by the US Department of Energy, unveiled Frontier–the world's fastest supercomputer. It’s capable of performing a quintillion calculations per second, breaking what's called the exascale barrier.

The system requires its own power plant, 6,000 gallons of water to keep it cool, and a highly trained staff to operate. So what can it do? And who gets to use it?

We set out for Knoxville, Tennessee to try to wrap our brains around Frontier’s limitless potential.

See more about Frontier here: It Takes 6,000 Gallons of Water to Cool the World’s Fastest Supercomputer

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