如果你的电脑能在几秒内启动，你可能觉得已经很快了。但是和中国最新的超级计算机系统——神威太湖之光相比，这根本算不了什么。
The massive machine in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, is capable of performing quadrillions of calculations per second. With that processing capacity, it has grabbed the top spot in the rankings of the world’s 500 fastest scientific computers, compiled biannually by the TOP500 organization.
位于江苏省无锡市的这台巨大机器每秒的运算速度高达亿亿次。凭借强大的处理能力，它得以称雄世界超级计算机500强榜单。该榜单每半年更新一次。
The former No 1 was China’s Tianhe-2, which now ranks second before the US’ Titan.
先前排在榜首的是我国的天河二号，领先美国的泰坦计算机，位列第二。
According to the Wall Street Journal, TaihuLight is offering more than twice the performance power of Tianhe-2, and it is roughly five times faster than Titan.
据《华尔街日报》报道，太湖之光的性能要比天河二号快出两倍，并且速度是泰坦计算机的五倍。
Unlike Tianhe-2, which used chips from Intel Corp., TaihuLight is built entirely with China-made chips.
与使用英特尔公司芯片的天河二号不同，太湖之光使用的芯片完全由中国制造。
“China has *bolstered its claim to leadership in the highest reaches of computing,” wrote Wall Street Journal reporters Don Clark and Eva Dou.
“中国强化了问鼎顶级计算机领域的主张，”《华尔街日报》记者唐•克拉克和伊娃•窦写道。
Just 15 years ago, China claimed zero of the world’s 500 fastest supercomputers. But now, it has more of the machines on the top 500 list than any other country, including the US.
仅在15年前，世界超级计算机500强的榜单上，没有中国的一席之地。而如今，上榜的中国计算机比包括美国在内的任何一个国家的都要多。
CNTV attributes the rapid development of Chinese supercomputers to the “863 program”, a government project aimed at ending reliance on foreign technology. It has funded supercomputer projects including the Shuguang, the Tianhe and the Sunway series. TaihuLight alone has been supported by an almost 1.8 billion yuan investment from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Jiangsu provincial government and the Wuxi local government.
中国网络电视台将中国超级计算机的快速发展归功于“863计划”，该政府计划旨在结束对外国技术的依赖，它为包括曙光、天河以及神威系列的超级计算机项目提供了资金支持。仅太湖之光一个项目便获得了来自科技部、江苏省政府、以及无锡市政府将近18亿元的投资。
China has attached great
中国十分重视超级计算机，并将其视作国防安全以及科学研究的一部分。据美国科技媒体网站The Verge报道，超级计算机的速度是普通个人电脑的20万倍左右，因而能够处理高风险研究，包括有关网络安全和核武器的信息。但太湖之光计算机将会被投入民用工作，例如制造业、生命科学以及地球系统建模。
