IBM's building the ultimate computer to trace Universe's origin

In 2016, researchers at IBM will begin their work on what will essentially be known to the world as the ultimate computer! And, they will be using it for a reason almost matching up to its ultimate status - going back in time to trace the origin of the Universe, which happened roughly 13 billion years ago, reports Daily Mail. The computer, it is being reported will go through radio waves from the Internet, which will help it trace the origin of the Universe, taking in twice the information, each day as the Internet, in the process. To give our readers an insight into the quantity of data being discussed here - The computer IBM’s working can can process more than an exabyte of data, each day. How much is an exabyte, you ask? Well, it is enough data to fill 15 million 64GB iPods every day. This machine, according to reports will be attached to a 1,900 square mile array of telescope antenna. With a set-up as such, it will be possible to ‘suck in’ in radio telescope data, which will be able to trace the origin of the Universe, some 13 billion years ago.

Building the Ultimate!

Here comes the spoiler. The Square Kilometre Array radio telescope, as it will be called will be nowhere near completion before 2024. Furthermore the report stated that the SKA telescope will have millions of antennas, which will collect the radio signals. This will form a collection area, which will be equal to one square kilometre, only it will cover a wider area - approximately the width of the continental United States. Also, the telescope on completion will be 50 times more sensitive than any of the previous radio devices, while also being more than 10,000 times faster, when compared to the present day instruments. The telescope, upon completion should help IBM solve and delve deeper into the universe, by exploring galaxies, dark matter and of course, the Big Bang!

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Ton Engbersen of IBM resarch is quoted as saying, “I_f you take the current global daily Internet traffic and multiply it by two, you are in the range of the data set that the Square Kilometre Array radio telescope will be collecting every day_.” According to reports, the directors overseeing the project will be meeting today at Amsterdam to “discuss the location of the huge telescope, scattered across 1,900 square miles of Earth’s surface.”