Fun fact: Most systems require air conditioning or chilled water to cool super powerful supercomputers, but the Olympus supercomputer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is cooled by the location's 65 degree groundwater. Traditional cooling systems could cost up to $61,000 in electricity each year, but this more efficient setup uses 70 percent less energy. PNNL's scientists use the Olympus supercomputer to conduct advanced research in areas such as energy storage and future power grid development. This supercomputer has the ability to compute as fast as about 20,000 typical personal computers combined. | Photo courtesy of PNNL.
Every week, we'll feature our favorite energy-related photo here on Energy.gov, at Facebook.com/Energygov, on Twitter via @ENERGY and on our Flickr photostream. For other photos of the week, view our gallery. If you have ideas for Photo of the Week, send us an email at NewMedia@hq.doe.gov.
