What technologies have appeared in the 21st century. Ten most interesting inventions of the XXI century! Mouth monitoring microsensor

Most of the innovations being introduced, although based on Soviet developments, take into account the colossal experience of many "generations" of scientists, but they are already modern inventions.

In this article, we will try to highlight some of the most high-profile and interesting domestic developments and promising achievements. And although the lead full list Russian inventions over the past twenty years, alas, there is no way, we will try to give short review developing areas.

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Do not confuse discoveries with inventions. Although many discoveries and innovative solutions meet all the criteria for patentability, not all are registered as "inventions".

Russian discoveries and inventions in the new millennium

Traditionally, the press covers the latest developments in the fields of weapons, energy, IT and medicine. defense industry, modern world, plays importance in the development of innovations. It is through the military departments that many new products in various fields and areas pass. In the last 20 years alone, the world community has been presented with:

Military area:

• "The Daddy of All Bombs"- the largest and most powerful conventional weapon in the world. Aviation vacuum bomb of unprecedented power, which can replace several small samples of nuclear weapons in the arsenal at once.
• Platform "Armata"- a revolutionary and unified platform that caused a major resonance in the world.
• Disposable jammer or electronic warfare- a source of suppression fixed in structure and spectrum, which can be applied from an airplane or helicopter, by analogy with heat traps.
• "Afghanite"- an active protection complex that stops all existing and promising ammunition.
• Anker-R- a device for remote detection of the wearer of the “shahid belt”.

Until now, the essence of the newest hypersonic complex remains completely undisclosed. Despite this, the very concept of the possibility of such innovations has seriously influenced existing developments around the world.

New technologies

There is an opinion that it is the IT-sphere and the direction of high technologies that are the “weak link” in the domestic portfolio of innovations. But even here, Russian inventors and their inventions were able to show impressive results:

• Quantum Blockchain– in 2017, on the basis of the Russian Quantum Center, the first distributed ledger protected by quantum cryptography methods was developed.
• Useful search engine fossils based on specific seismic and electromagnetic noise - an unparalleled discovery and invention was developed by specialists from the Siberian Federal University.
• Installation for the extraction of an electron beam into the atmosphere– on the basis of an electron gun and a plasma emitter, TUSUR and the RUSNANO center developed new installation. This discovery will allow the creation of equipment of a new principle for 3D printing technology and layer-by-layer fusion.
• Exavat lasers– The Pettawatt Parametric Laser (PEARL) project was launched at the Institute of Applied Physics at the Russian Academy of Sciences. These laser systems will make it possible to study extreme physical processes, initiate thermonuclear reactions in targets, and obtain laser sources of neutrons with specific properties.

Medicine and healthcare

The inventions of Russian scientists in the 21st century concern not only the military sphere. Domestic specialists are engaged in solving urgent problems in the field of treatment for the most dangerous diseases of our time. Already in 2016, Russian scientists registered a cure for the Ebola virus.

Claimed efficiency is far ahead of existing analogues, shows an efficiency close to 100%. The new drug is called GamEvac-Combi, and its registration with WHO is planned after the results of the third stage of clinical trials are received.

Fuel and energy

Russian inventions of the 21st century could not bypass the country's inalienable fuel and energy sector. Only in the last twenty years have been discovered and registered: new principles of mineral exploration based on seismic and electronic noise, thermal gas chemical fracturing, MOX nuclear fuel for fast reactors, a floating mobile nuclear power plant, etc.

Space

The technology of travel and space exploration is a traditional direction for Russia. In this area, we have always had and still have high expectations and requirements, new “great Russian inventions” are required from the relevant research institutes and design bureaus. Already in the 21st century, non-obvious solutions to actual (and sometimes even seemingly dead-end) problems were found:

• Detonation liquid engine (LRE) - rocket engine, which uses the detonation combustion mode. Although such a concept was proposed as early as the 20th century, it was not until 2016 that a full-size demonstrator was created.
• The world's first carbon-fiber compartment of a spacecraft - from the Russian corporation Energia, was developed and presented to the public as part of the MAKS-2015 air show.

Innovations nearby

Along with powerful scientific and inventive breakthroughs on a global scale, small but extremely interesting solutions. Thus, in 2015, Alexey Churkin invented the so-called. "endless flash drive". The miniature device connects to the computer via a USB port and provides the owner with access to the cloud Internet storage. Since 2016, such devices (FlashSafe) are already on sale.

Man is one of the most curious and intelligent living organisms on the planet, so there is nothing surprising in the fact that every day, week or month more and more new discoveries and inventions are born.

An enzyme that could make any type of donated blood suitable for any recipient.

When it comes to donating blood, the O group is special. It can be given to anyone, regardless of their own blood type. In contrast to this group, type A blood can only fit the same A-recipient or AB patient, and group B can only fit the same B-recipient or AB blood patient. In addition, patients with type O blood can only accept the same type O. Thanks to new research, however, it may soon be possible to give any recipient, regardless of their own blood type, any.

The first 3D printed skull!

What progress has been made! Apparently, the hour is not far off when new brains will be printed for us on the computer! At least the first 3D printed skull is already being worn by a young girl.

3. Artificial memories.

A close collaboration between the Riken Brain Science Institute of Japan and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for Learning and Memory has led to the discovery of a way to create false memories in the brains of mice. This breakthrough in medicine greatly expands our understanding of human memory and expands the horizons of psychiatry in relation to mental disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

A billboard that produces clean water.

The University of Engineering and Technology of Peru, in collaboration with advertising agency Mayo DraftFCB, has developed a billboard that can convert atmospheric moisture into drinking water. The lack of clean drinking water is a separate problem for Peru, this invention will improve the quality of life of the local population.

Artificial pancreas.

The artificial pancreas uses technology to help people with diabetes control their blood glucose levels through the mechanisms of a healthy pancreas. The first patient to test this device was four-year-old Australian Xavier Haymes, who suffers from type 1 diabetes.

Recorder Pen: A pen that turns handwriting into typed text.

Korean designers have developed a unique gadget - a pen that can recognize handwritten text and decode it into printed text. When transferred via Bluetooth to a computer or smartphone, what is written is decoded and saved as a text file. Nowadays, most people have to type on the keyboard more often than write by hand. As a result, writing literacy is seriously reduced and handwriting is deteriorating. This is becoming a serious problem for modern schoolchildren and students.

Sky Tran: the new kind transport.

A new form of public transport is currently being developed by NASA and SkyTran. This is a completely revolutionary vehicle, which is a flying cabin suspended on rails. SkyTran is also an environmentally friendly mode of transport, which will appear for the first time in Tel Aviv.

Flying skateboard.

Fans of the cult movie "Back to the Future" were terribly disappointed when it turned out that the mega-popular advertisement for the HUVrTech hovering skate was nothing more than a clever prank. But Californian inventor Greg Henderson created a real prototype of a fantastic device.

Device against stoop.

Lumo Lift is a smart gadget that looks like a chip that is attached to clothes (it can be hidden under the collar of a shirt or, if desired, used as a stylish accessory), analyzes the position of the neck and spine, and vibrates when it is time for you to straighten your shoulders.

"Smart" ring.

Even jewelry is now going electronic, like this Ringly ring designed by one of eBay's former designers. It connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and starts to vibrate and glow when you receive calls and messages. The 100% female gadget was met with a bang: the first thousand rings were sold out in 24 hours.

The 21st century began not so long ago, but technological progress does not stand still. Over the past two decades, various new technologies and inventions have entered our lives. In this article we will talk about the most notable inventions of the 21st century.

In general, if you read something on the Internet about inventions made in the 21st century, then often the authors lump everything together. YouTube, the Large Hadron Collider, and a bacterium with artificial DNA are on the same list. We will not include such dubious "inventions" in the list. We will select inventions according to the following criteria. First, we will take really significant inventions that have entered life in the 21st century and have begun to be actively used. Secondly, we will select such inventions that are really something new. And, finally, we will not write down as inventions something that may be interesting, but exists in one or more copies. So, what is really invented in the 21st century?

3d printers

To be honest, 3D printing technologies, like the first 3D printers, appeared back in the 20th century. But some circumstances still allow us to attribute them to the inventions of the 21st century. What?

The first 3D printer, i.e. a device capable of "printing" a plastic product according to a predetermined model, appeared in the USA back in 1984. This printer was able to harden plastic using a laser beam. In the next few years, other 3D printing technologies were invented, and soon the first 3D printers appeared on the market. But from ordinary people, few people noticed this event for a number of reasons. Firstly, these 3D printers were imperfect and worked very slowly, and secondly, they were very expensive and were intended only for industrial use.

But in the 21st century, a real breakthrough has occurred in the field of 3D printing. First, there were small and inexpensive 3D printers that everyone could buy and, having connected to their home computer, print whatever they wanted. Secondly, the scope of 3D printers has expanded significantly. If the first models used only one type of plastic as a raw material, then in the second half of the 2000s the range of materials expanded significantly. There are 3D food printers that can print food (like cakes), medical printers that can print prostheses and artificial blood vessels, and even construction printers that can print entire buildings!

Video - 3D printer in China prints entire buildings:

Multicopters

Multicopters (mostly in the form of quadcopters), or drones, have also appeared more recently. On the one hand, the very scheme of such an aircraft with 4 (or more) screws was not something new, and enough unmanned aerial vehicles were designed in the 20th century, but in the 21st century a real breakthrough was made in this area.

This happened, on the one hand, thanks to the development of electronics and the emergence of small microcircuits capable of controlling the flight of multicopters, and on the other hand, thanks to the emergence of compact lithium-ion batteries that can provide drones with sufficient energy for flight.

First multicopter modern type appeared in 2006 and was developed by the German company Mikrokopter.

It cost a lot - 1500 euros, but competitors quickly adopted the idea and soon designed a huge number of more affordable models. Today, quadrocopters are already actively used for filming, mapping, various studies and the delivery of small cargoes.

Deep Learning Neural Networks

Soon after the advent of computers, programmers began to try to use them to simulate the work of neurons, that is, cells involved in information processing in animals and humans. With the help of artificial neural networks, they tried to solve problems that could not be programmed in the usual way - for example, to teach a computer to recognize speech or find out what is shown in the picture. For a long time it was not possible to achieve significant results, and back in the 90s, speech or image recognition programs, although they existed, worked very poorly. The situation moved from a dead point only after 2006, with the advent of the so-called. deep learning neural networks. Several factors played a role here - both the emergence of new ideas in the organization of neural networks, and the improvement in the performance of computers, which coincided with the accumulation of large data arrays on which neural networks could be trained.

In just a few years, something that had not been possible for decades was done - programs learned how to recognize speech well, classify images, and play fairly complex games. Now, based on deep learning neural networks, voice assistants like Yandex.Alice, as well as services that allow you to find a person by photo, work. But the scope of technology is constantly expanding. For example, neural networks are already being successfully applied to economic forecasting and medical diagnostics.

Self-driving cars

Unmanned Googlemobile

The idea to create a vehicle that can move on the roads on its own, without the participation of a driver, appeared a very long time ago. But huge technical difficulties for a long time did not allow to implement this idea in practice. Back in 2004, at the self-driving car competition in the United States, not a single car was able to complete the entire route and reach the finish line. But the situation changed, designers equipped cars with more and more advanced sensors and more and more advanced artificial intelligence, and after 2010 there were models capable of driving independently on the streets of cities. Currently, driverless buses and taxis are already operating in several countries, and the authorities of many cities are quite seriously considering projects for the development of driverless vehicles.

Video - tests of an unmanned Yandex.taxi in Moscow:

CRISPR/Cas9 - gene editing

Genetic engineering technologies that allow introducing new genes into the body appeared in the 20th century. However, in 2013, a discovery was made that gives scientists the opportunity to purposefully remove a specific fragment from DNA. Bacteria were found to be able to find and remove a section of the virus code from their DNA, and that this method can be applied not only to bacteria, but also to animals, including humans.

While it cannot be said that new technology allows scientists to edit the genome as they please, but they are sure that it opens up huge prospects. For example, they expect to use it to treat genetic diseases, fight cancer and viral diseases. Some encouraging results have already been obtained, although it became clear to scientists that the method needs to be improved.

But the most interesting thing is that a few years after the discovery, based on the CRISPR / Cas9 method, genome editing kits appeared, in fact, at home, which anyone can buy. Already now such sets can be bought in the online store. The simplest option, which costs $75, allows you to edit the genome of microorganisms, changing it so that the microbes begin to glow in the dark. And for several thousand dollars, a complete set is available, with which the genome can be edited almost arbitrarily. Many have already expressed fears that this availability of technology could create the conditions for bioterrorism.

Can you name other significant inventions that have appeared in the 21st century? Write in the comments.

Our world is a dynamic thing, and almost every day we learn about new interesting inventions that make our lives easier, and generally contribute to progress. Almost two decades of the 21st century have brought many significant inventions. We will talk about the brightest of them in this article. So, your attention is presented to the TOP-7 inventions of the beginning of the 21st century according to the site!

7th place. The Large Hadron Collider

(LHC) is an invention that has given rise to many conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theorists found a relationship between the launch of the collider and natural disasters; convinced the public that because of his work, the Earth would be swallowed up black hole; there is even an opinion that the LHC is actually used for other purposes, but for secret experiments of a secret government. But he did not get into our TOP for this.

The Large Hadron Collider is the largest experimental facility in the world.

The essence of the operation of the Large Hadron Collider is that heavy particles accelerate and collide in its rings, and the study of their decay products allows making many discoveries in the energy field. In particular, the Higgs Boson was discovered, the existence of the top quark was confirmed, and many other interesting things that made a lot of noise in the world of physicists. So the LHC is one of the achievements that helps us to understand the structure of our world.

6th place. SpaceShipOne spacecraft

A controlled suborbital spacecraft that can carry up to 3 passengers - such a characteristic is given to SpaceShipOne. Suborbital is understood as an altitude of more than 100 km, and this is already space. Today, the spacecraft is not used, because. he fulfilled his main tasks - he brought victory in the competition to his creators (yes, there was such a competition where it was necessary to bungle such an apparatus), and proved that space tourism is already available today. In total, SpaceShipOne made 17 flights.

Now SpaceShipTwo is being actively developed, which can carry 6 passengers and 2 pilots. It has been tested since 2010, and in the near future the development company promises to make the first space passenger flight. True, such pleasure will cost a lot.

5th place. Virtual and augmented reality

Oculus Rift is a development that has taken virtual reality to a new level. These virtual reality glasses are several times superior to competitors in some respects. In particular, the largest field of view, the presence of head tracking technology, eye safety, and an improved 3D effect are noted, which together provide a deeper immersion in virtual reality. Oculus Rift should be the most affordable option for lovers of 3D games. Yes, and leading representatives of the gaming industry are preparing new toys that are primarily compatible with the Oculus Rift. In general, we can expect that these virtual reality glasses will finally take over their market segment soon.

And this is a demonstration of augmented reality technology using Microsoft glasses

As for augmented reality, then it is worth paying tribute to the invention of Google Glass. Despite all its innovativeness, this gadget has not received due recognition. Now the production of Google Glass is suspended, but the release of the second generation of these glasses is expected. Augmented reality is used in many areas: in medicine, defense, education and, of course, in games. In July 2016, augmented reality attracted attention with the release, where this technology is taken as the basis. Undoubtedly, this technology will develop, and will certainly make life easier for us. Who knows what they have in mind at Google, because today there are achievements of augmented reality lenses.

4th place. Thought-controlled prosthesis

- an invention that has become a significant property of bio-cybernetics. This bionic prosthesis is by far the best of its kind. artificial hand controlled by impulses sent by the brain. Predecessors were often limited to simple flexion-extension of the palm, when BeBionic 3 can serve as a full-fledged replacement for a lost limb.

Nigel Ackland, one of the owners of this invention, can safely tie shoelaces, cook food and perform other minor manipulations. However, such a benefit is not available to everyone, because its cost is about 15,000 British pounds.

3rd place. 3D printer

The top three included such a revolutionary invention of the 21st century as a 3D printer. 3D printing technology has opened up many interesting possibilities for the world. In particular, this was reflected in engineering, because. now it is much more convenient and less expensive to work with models. Directly at home, you can create models and small parts of almost any complexity. 3D printing is gradually being introduced into the construction of buildings, and into the production of cars, and even in the manufacture of weapon parts.

3D printing has also come in very handy in medicine: the production of prostheses and implants has been simplified, and the production of some drugs through 3D printing has also begun. Separately, it is worth mentioning that experiments are being carried out today (and quite promising) for printing donor organs, which in the future can save many lives. So the 3D printer is truly a revolutionary invention!

2nd place. Autonomous artificial heart

We will talk about the artificial heart AbioCor, the invention of which provided the basis for future developments in this direction. AbioCor can prolong the life of a patient with severe heart failure. Unfortunately, at the time the technology appeared, such a heart could only be implanted in people with certain anthropometric data. The battery only lasted an hour. However, the artificial heart worked, people continued to live.

Today, thanks to the experience of AbioCor, new technologies are being introduced that in the future can save more than one million lives, because. According to statistics, heart disease is the most common cause of death in the world. That is why this invention is in second place in our TOP.

1 place. Social media

Yes, it is social networks. Of course, you can say that the first social network appeared in 1995 and all that ... However, we will start from the invention, or rather the development of the most popular social network today - Facebook. It is she and many other similar sites that are popular today that are the property of the 21st century. Social networks imperceptibly for us have firmly entered our lives. They not only changed the way of communication in social terms, but also largely influenced the promotion of business, brought a colossal confusion in marketing, influenced the advertising market and, in general, literally pierced the expanses of the Internet with their presence.

For 15 years since the beginning of the new millennium, people did not even notice that they were in a different world: we live in a different solar system, we know how to repair genes and control prostheses with the power of thought. None of this happened in the 20th century.

GENETICS

The human genome has been completely sequenced

Robot sorts human DNA in Petri dishes for The Human Genome project

The Human Genome Project began in 1990, a working draft of the genome structure was released in 2000, and the complete genome in 2003. However, even today additional analysis of some areas has not yet been completed. It was mainly performed at universities and research centers in the US, Canada and the UK. Genome sequencing is critical to drug development and understanding how the human body works.

Genetic engineering has reached a new level

IN last years developed a revolutionary method for manipulating DNA using the so-called CRISP mechanism. This technique allows selective editing of certain genes, which was not possible before.

MATHEMATICS

Poincaré's theorem is proved

In 2002 Russian mathematician Grigory Perelman proved the Poincaré theorem, one of the seven millennium problems (important mathematical problems, the solution of which has not been found for decades). Perelman showed that the original three-dimensional surface (if there are no discontinuities in it) will necessarily evolve into a three-dimensional sphere. For this work, he received the prestigious "Fields Medal", analogous to the Nobel Prize in mathematics.

ASTRONOMY

Dwarf planet Eris discovered

Eridu was first photographed on October 21, 2003, but was only noticed in the pictures at the beginning of 2005. Its discovery was the last straw in the debate about the fate of Pluto (whether to continue to consider it a planet or not), which changed the usual image of the solar system.

Water found on Mars

In 2005, the European Space Agency's Mars Express discovered large deposits of water ice close to the surface - this is very important for the subsequent colonization of the Red Planet.

PHYSICS

Global warming - faster than expected

In 2015, scientists from the World Glacier Monitoring Center at the University of Zurich (Switzerland), led by Dr. Michael Zemp, working together with colleagues from 30 countries, found that the rate of melting of glaciers on Earth to date, compared with the average rates for the 20th century, grew two or three times.

Quantum teleportation discovered

Such teleportation is different from teleportation, which science fiction writers like to talk about - with it, matter or energy is not transmitted over a distance. Experiments on the transfer of quantum states over long distances have been successfully carried out over the past 15 years by at least a dozen scientific groups. Quantum teleportation is very important for creating ultra-secure ciphers and quantum computers.

Existence of graphene experimentally confirmed

Its two-dimensional (one atom thick) crystal lattice exhibits unusual electrophysical properties. Graphene was first obtained by Andrey Geim and Konstantin Novoselov in 2004 (Nobel Prize for 2010). It is planned to be used in electronics (in ultra-thin and ultra-fast transistors), composites, electrodes, etc. In addition, graphene is the second most durable material in the world (carbine is in the first place).

The existence of a quark-gluon plasma has been proven

In 2012, the experiments of physicists working with the RHIC accelerator at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (USA) got into the Guinness Book of Records with the wording "for the most high temperature obtained in laboratory conditions. By colliding gold ions at the accelerator, scientists have achieved the emergence of quark-gluon plasma with a temperature of 4 trillion ° C (250 thousand times hotter than in the center of the Sun). About a microsecond after the Big Bang, the universe was filled with just such a plasma.

Higgs boson found

The existence of this elementary particle, responsible for the mass of all other particles, was theoretically predicted by Peter Higgs back in the 1960s. And it was found during experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in 2012 (for which Higgs, together with Francois Engler, received the Nobel Prize in 2013).

BIOLOGY

People were divided into three enterotypes

In 2011, scientists from Germany, France and several other research centers proved that, according to the genetics of the bacteria inhabiting us, people are divided into three categories, or enterotypes. The human enterotype manifests itself in a different reaction to food, drugs and diets, and therefore it became clear that no universal recipes could exist in these areas.

Created the first synthetic bacterial cell

In 2010, scientists from the Craig Venter Institute (which was one of the leaders in the race to decipher the human genome) created the first fully synthetic chromosome with a genome. When it was built into a bacterial cell devoid of genetic material, it began to function and divide according to the laws prescribed by the new genome. In the future, a synthetic genome will make it possible to create vaccines against new viral strains in hours, not weeks, to produce efficient biofuels, new food products etc.

Successfully recorded and re-recorded memories

Since 2010, several research groups (USA, France, Germany) have learned how to write false memories into the brains of mice, erase real ones, and also turn pleasant memories into unpleasant ones. The matter has not yet reached the human brain, but it will not be long.

'Ethical' (not from embryos) pluripotent stem cells obtained

In 2012, Shinya Yamanaka and John Gurdon were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2006 for their discovery of mouse pluripotent stem cells by epigenetic reprogramming. Over the next decade, at least a dozen scientific groups have made impressive progress in this area, including with human cells. This bodes well for breakthroughs in cancer therapy, regenerative medicine, and human (or organ) cloning.

PALEONTOLOGY

Dinosaur soft tissue discovered for the first time

Mary Schweitzer led the scientific team that described the collagen isolated from the femur of Tyrannosaurus rex.

In 2005, University of North Carolina molecular paleontologist Mary Schweitzer discovered soft tissue in the fossilized limb of a 65-million-year-old tyrannosaurus rex from Montana. Previously, it was believed that any proteins would decompose in a maximum of several thousand years, so no one was looking for them in the fossils. After that, soft tissues (collagen) were found in other ancient samples.

Neanderthal and Denisovan genes found in humans

Participants of the international symposium "Transition to the Upper Paleolithic in Eurasia: cultural dynamics and the development of the genus Homo" inspect the excavation site in the central hall of the Denisova Cave

From the work of two scientific groups, it became clear that from 1 to 3% of the genome of an average European or Asian goes back to Neanderthals. But every modern individual has dissimilar Neanderthal alleles ( various forms of the same gene), so the total amount of "Neanderthal" genes is much higher, up to 30%. The "heirs" of the Neanderthals (crossing took place about 45 thousand years ago) are mostly Europeans; Asians in the genome contain traces of crossing with another hominid - "Denisovsky man". The most “clean” Homo sapiens are natives of the African continent.

MEDICINE

Breathing early stage of lung cancer

A year ago, a team of Israeli, American and British scientists developed a device that can accurately identify lung cancer and determine what stage it is in. The basis of the device was a breath analyzer with a built-in NaNose nanochip, capable of “sniffing out” a cancerous tumor with 90% accuracy, even when the cancerous nodule is almost invisible. In the near future we should expect analyzers that will be able to determine other types of cancer by “smell”.

Developed the first fully autonomous artificial heart

Specialists from the American company Abiomed have developed the world's first fully autonomous permanent artificial heart for implantation (AbioCor). An artificial heart is intended for patients who cannot treat their own heart or implant a donor one.

BIONICS

Created biomechanical devices and prostheses controlled by thought

American Zack Water tested a bionic leg prosthesis by climbing the stairs to the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower skyscraper in Chicago.

In 2013, the first prototypes of "smart" prostheses appeared with feedback(emulation of tactile sensations), which allow a person to feel what the prosthesis “feels”. In the 2010s, devices separate from humans were also created, controlled only through a mental interface (sometimes with invasive contacts, but more often it looks like a headband with a dry electrode), - computer games and simulators, manipulators, transport, etc.

ELECTRONICS

Crossed the petaflop barrier

In 2008, a new supercomputer at Los Alamos (USA) ran at a rate of more than a quadrillion (thousand trillion) operations per second. The next barrier, exascale (quintillion operations per second), will be reached in the coming years. Systems with such incredible speed are needed primarily for high-performance computing - data processing of scientific experiments, climate modeling, financial transactions, etc.

Photo: Alamy, SPL, Newscom / Legion Media, SPL / Legion Media (X2), Photo courtesy of North Carolina State University, Reuters / Pix-Stream, Alexander Kryazhev / RIA Novosti, Reuters / Pix-Stream, Michael Hoch, Maximilien Brice / © 2008 CERN, for the benefit of the CMS Collaboration, AP / East News