Michael Burgan - The Department of Energy: A Look Behind the Scenes

The name exascale refers to the number of calculations per second the new supercomputers will perform. The first computer was introduced in 1946 and could add 5,000 numbers per second. Today, the fastest U.S. supercomputer can do quadrillions of calculations per second. Written as a number, one quadrillion looks like this: 1,000,000,000,000,000. One quadrillion calculations per second is known as a petaflop. Peta comes from a Greek word meaning five and refers to the fact that one quadrillion is the same as 1,000 multiplied by itself five times. In 2017, the worlds fastest computer, in China, could do 93 petaflops. In 2018, the DOE began operating a computer at the Oak Ridge National Lab with a speed of 200 petaflops. Exascale computers will reach speeds of 1,000 petaflops. Thats one trillion times faster than todays laptops. Exa comes from a Greek word meaning six and refers to the fact that one quintillion, the next large number measurement after a quadrillion, is the same as 1,000 multiplied by itself six times.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee

For the DOE in particular, increased computing power will have many benefits. The department already controls the fastest supercomputers in the United States, which are kept at some of the national labs. Current supercomputers are used to help DOE and other government scientists carry out experiments, called simulations. The simulations show what could happen in different situations. For example, a supercomputer can help study what materials might be best for a certain energy project. The simulation provides useful information without the cost of actually buying the materials and carrying out a physical experiment. One DOE supercomputer was used in 2018 to carry out simulations about earthquakes. From the simulation, scientists learned how an earthquake in a specific part of San Francisco would affect nearby buildings.

The work that the DOE does relies heavily on scientists who are experts in such fields as physics, biology, and chemistry. Some of their work is concerned with making sure the United States has enough energy to meet its needs. At the same time, scientists work to reduce any possible negative impacts the production of energy has on people and the environment. The department is also in charge of building and maintaining the nations nuclear weapons that work properly if they are ever needed.

The Department of Energy is one of 15 executive departments in the U.S. government. The mission of the DOE is to to ensure Americas security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.

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To carry out its mission the departments different offices focus on several basic areas related to energy. Along with building climate change, and scientists predict it may lead to coastal flooding, among other environmental problems.

A technician at DOEs Argonne National Laboratory tested the all-electric Tesla Roadster to gather data on electric cars.

Given its important role in funding and carrying out scientific research in many fields, the DOE often works with other executive departments. Because of its work on Office of Science also gives public and private colleges money to conduct research. Much of the research funded by the DOE goes on at the 17 national laboratories it runs.

Where the Money Goes: Here are the DOE programs that received the most money in the 2018 budget