AI-powered supercomputer to start testing America's nukes
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Scientists have unveiled the world's fastest computer in California that will be used to secure America's nuclear weapons stockpile. The $600 million exascale supercomputer, called 'El Capitan,' is only the third of its kind in the world. It's capable of performing 2.79 quintillion calculations per second.
![[El Capitan is capable of performing 2.79 quintillion calculations per second. That's equivalent to the processing power of about one million high-end smartphones working simultaneously]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/21/94406953-14314595-image-a-2_1737581277218.jpg)
That's equivalent to the processing power of about one million high-end smartphones working simultaneously, researchers said. El Capitan launched at the Livermore National Laboratory (LNNL) in November 2024 and was officially announced to the public on January 9.
![[This technological behemoth has the same square footage as a five to six bedroom mansion (6,000 square feet) and weighs as much as four blue whales (1.3 million pounds)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/22/21/94406851-14314595-image-a-3_1737581321925.jpg)
It will primarily focus on national security, including nuclear data and weapon testing, high-energy-density physics, materials discovery and other sensitive or classified tasks. 'El Capitan's capabilities help researchers ensure the safety, security, and reliability of the nation's nuclear stockpile in the absence of underground testing,' which has been prohibited since 1992,' scientists shared in a statement.
![[El Capitan will run sophisticated calculations that simulate nuclear detonations from the US' stockpile to assess how the effectiveness of these warheads has changed over time]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/23/13/94432547-14314595-image-a-3_1737637813599.jpg)
The supercomputer will do this by running sophisticated calculations that simulate nuclear detonations from the US' stockpile. This technological behemoth has the same square footage as a five to six bedroom mansion (6,000 square feet) and weighs as much as four blue whales (1.3 million pounds).
Scientists have unveiled the world's fastest supercomputer in California, El Capitan, which will be used to secure America's nuclear weapons stockpile. 'Because we stopped doing underground nuclear testing, we needed to replace that with something,' Pythagoras Watson, the team lead of the advanced technology system, told CBS News Bay Area.
