Some computers are so fast and powerful that they are known as ''supercomputers.'' The next generation of these computers will be able to complete more than one trillion operations per second. We need computers that are powerful enough to access, process, and apply the world's store of information, which is doubling approximately every five years. Supercomputers, a totally revised and expanded edition in the new Science and Technology in Focus series, introduces readers to the history of these powerful machines and looks to their role in the future. This new edition covers recent advances such as optical computing (the use of light, rather than electrons, to carry information) and quantum computing (the application of quantum mechanics to create computers that operate, in part, on the atomic scale). Written in a lively, informative tone, Supercomputers presents the latest computer technology in a clear and exciting format that will benefit all readers interested in this fast-growing field.