A supercomputer capable of operating as fast as 33.86 petaflops per second remains the world's most
powerful system, according to a biannual Top500 list released Monday. Tianhe-2, developed by
China's National University of Defense Technology, put China back at the top of the list in June.
Tianhe-2 has played a role in the field of engineering. The major challenge is for China to develop
the computing chip technology so it can build the whole computer with Chinese parts. In May 2011,
Japan's K computer took first position, and now lists at Number Four. Sequoia, installed at the DOE's
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is again the Number Three system with a performance of 17.17 petaflops per second.
A Swiss supercomputer is at Number Six, making it the most powerful system in Europe and also the
most energy efficient. Overall, the United States is "clearly the leading consumer" of the
supercomputing systems with 265 entries on the list.
