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"Discovery Files" Features from the National Science Foundation
"Getting Graphic"
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GETTING GRAPHIC... THE "DISCOVERY FILES": NEW ADVANCES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, FROM THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION. IF ANYONE SAYS THAT YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO LEARN ANYTHING BY PLAYING VIDEO-GAMES, THEY MAY WANT TO CHECK WITH RESEARCHERS FROM STANFORD--WHO HAVE FOUND A WAY TO USE VIDEO-GAME TECHNOLOGY TO RAPIDLY CALCULATE THE STRUCTURE OF MOLECULES. IN MOLECULAR-RESEARCH, ALGORITHMS ARE YOUR FRIENDS; THEY'RE THE UNBELIEVABLY COMPLEX--BUT NECESSARY--CALCULATIONS THAT CAN STRAIN A COMPUTER'S C-P-U TO ITS LIMITS--JAMMING THINGS UP, AND TAKING DAYS, MONTHS, OR EVEN YEARS TO PROCESS. THE RESEARCHERS--TAKING THEIR CUE FROM VIDEO-GAMES WITH SUPER-FAST GRAPHICS--HAVE FOUND A WAY TO REWRITE ALGORITHMS TO USE THE GRAPHICS-PROCESSING UNIT--OR G-P-U--IN A COMPUTER'S VIDEO-CARD--INSTEAD OF THE C-P-U, OR THE COMPUTER'S CENTRAL-PROCESSING UNIT. RATHER THAN BEING IN A COMPUTATIONAL TRAFFIC-JAM, THEY WERE NOW ON THE AUTOBAHN: TEST-ALGORITHMS WERE COMPUTED 650-TIMES FASTER. A G-P-U THAT COSTS AROUND 260 DOLLARS CAN PROCESS NEARLY A TRILLION OPERATIONS, PER SECOND--COMPARED TO THE MERE 50-BILLION, PER SECOND, THAT YOU'D GET WITH A C-P-U THAT COSTS NEARLY FOUR-TIMES AS MUCH. THE RESULT IS CHEAPER, FASTER, AND BETTER: THIS NEW WAY OF CALCULATING WILL ALLOW SCIENTISTS TO DESIGN AND SIMULATE NEW MOLECULES WITH UNPRECEDENTED SPEED--IN ORDER TO HELP DEVELOP BETTER DRUGS, CATALYSTS FOR FUEL-CELLS, AND OTHER APPLICATIONS. THE "DISCOVERY FILES" COVERS PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH BROUGHT TO YOU BY YOU! LEARN MORE AT "N-S-F"-DOT-GOV--OR ON THEIR PODCAST.
For additional "Discovery Files" features from the National Science Foundation, click here.
