Chinese scientists create largest virtual universeJuly 31, 2017 - 11:46 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A team of Chinese scientists put the world's faster supercomputer to the test by using it to create the biggest virtual universe. They're calling it a "warm-up exercise" for the machine called Sunway TaihuLight, which used 10 million CPU cores to crunch numbers for the simulation. As Engadget reports citing South China Morning Post (SCMP), an English-language newspaper based in Hong Kong, Sunway's universe was five times bigger than the simulation ran by astrophysicists from the University of Zurich back in June. The downside was that it only lasted for an hour, whereas the Swiss simulation lasted 80. Simulations of the cosmos can help astronomers look for the most promising regions of space to investigate and could shed light on its mysterious components, like dark matter and dark energy. The Chinese team's simulation, in particular, recreated the birth and early expansion of the universe, around tens of millions years after the Big Bang. Unfortunately, they had to stop after they reached that point: Team leader Gao Liang said the supercomputer had other clients in line that day. SCMP says Chinese-made supercomputers typically have major weaknesses and rarely run at full capacity. The team must have found a way to maximize Sunway's powers, because the project reportedly stretched the machine to the limit without breaking it. Gao is hoping to run a simulation from the birth of the universe up until the current era -- it's now around 13.8 billion years old -- but they might wait until Sunway's successor is ready before launching their next attempt. The next-gen supercomputer will apparently be 10 times faster than Sunway and could be up and running sometime in 2019. Top stories Yerevan will host the 2024 edition of the World Congress On Information Technology (WCIT). Rustam Badasyan said due to the lack of such regulation, the state budget is deprived of VAT revenues. Krisp’s smart noise suppression tech silences ambient sounds and isolates your voice for calls. Gurgen Khachatryan claimed that the "illegalities have been taking place in 2020." Partner news Most popular in the section | Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life, Strong Mind IDBank and Idram summarize the results of the May program of “The Power of One Dram”. Yerevan State University, Ucom sign Memorandum of Cooperation Rector of Yerevan State University Hovhannes Hovhannisyan and General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian signed the memorandum. EU to provide budgetary support to Armenia The agreement is aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the educational system of Armenia. Aliyev: No peace treaty unless Armenia changes constitution Azerbaijan will not sign a peace treaty with Armenia unless the latter changes its constitution, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said. |