What is petascale?

Petascale refers to computing systems that are capable of processing one quadrillion (10^15) mathematical computations per second. It is a measure of the processing power of supercomputers and is the next step up from terascale computing systems. Petascale computers require massive amounts of energy and cooling systems to operate, and are typically used in scientific research fields such as climate modeling, drug discovery, and astrophysics. Petascale computing can enable researchers to simulate complex systems at higher resolutions and with greater precision, leading to breakthroughs in scientific discoveries. The first petascale supercomputer, Roadrunner, was introduced in 2008 and was used by the US Department of Energy to simulate and analyze nuclear weapons.