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The first supercomputers used scalar processing to process one data item at a time, while some used vector processors to process multiple equations simultaneously. Seymour Cray developed the first supercomputer, the Cray-1, in 1976, which held the world record for speed. The era of supercomputers began with the Cray-1 and changed the world forever.
The first supercomputers used the basic concept of electronic programming and numerical transactions to process information. Using a scalar processing technique, early designs were very simple by modern standards. Each computer was capable of processing only one data item at a time, using the concept of integral data types or floating point numbers. Integral data types within the methodology of computer science represent a finite subset of mathematical integers to form a process. The floating point method is a system in which a string of bits represents a rational number.
Some of the other early supercomputers, however, used vector processors to do data processing. This new central processing unit (CPU) design allowed users to perform operations on multiple mathematical equations simultaneously. Basically, he was able to implement the scalar processing method to a much more elaborate level. This technique was very much acclimated to scientific computing throughout the 1980s, but disappeared with the advent of better CPUs and parallel processing. Parallel computing, using thousands of CPUs, has become the basis of modern supercomputers.
Although room-sized computers had been around since the 1940s, it wasn’t until the 1960s that researchers began to make full use of the design concept to develop the first supercomputers. The primary scientist to develop the first supercomputers was Seymour Cray of Control Data Corporation. After completing a number of projects, he left the company in 1980 to found Cray Research, an independent design firm. His supercomputer designs controlled the market for several years before the mass collapse of the supercomputer market in the 1990s and his death in 1996.
Considered the very first supercomputer, the Cray-1 system was installed in 1976 at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. At the time, its speed held the world record of 160 million operations per second, also known as a megaflop. It only contained 8 megabytes of memory. However, one of the major advances that made the computer durable and powerful was its design, which used cables no longer than four feet (1.22m). Also, the cooling system used freon, which prevented overheating.
A short time later, the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) obtained the next generation supercomputer, the Cray 1-A. This was equipped with a system that made it possible to develop a 10-day forecast in five hours. Prior to this supercomputer, the system used by ECMWF took 12 days to process the same forecast length. With this installation, the era of the supercomputer as the primary tool has taken hold, changing the world forever.
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