The Cray-2 Supercomputer (designed by Seymour Cray of Cray Research, Eagan, MN) was first introduced in 1985, nine years after the first model, the Cray-1, was introduced. This type of supercomputer is used for mathematical studies of very complex problems, such as speech analysis, weather forecasting, and fundamental questions in physics and chemistry. It is a computer capable of many billions of arithmetic operations per second. The computer contains hundreds of processing units, similar to the central processing units in PCs. The processing units are linked together in parallel so that multiple computations can be carried out simultaneously.
Supercomputers are used to design automobiles, aircraft, and spacecraft; to predict the weather and global climate; to design new drugs and chemical compounds; and to make calculations that help scientists understand the properties of particles that make up atoms as well as the features and evolution of stars and galaxies. Supercomputers are also used widely by the military to do weapons and defense systems research, and to code or decode secret information. Because these computers can cost billions of dollars and because they can be large enough to fill in two basketball courts, they are used primarily by government agencies and large research centers.
Notes: 1hardwired – постоянно [жёстко] замонтированный, постоянно запаянный;
2scheduling system – система календарного планирования