Story Highlights Computer is capable of sustaining 1,000 trillion operations per second
It will be used to help maintain the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile
The machine is named Roadrunner
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists at the Los Alamos government weapons lab have built the world's fastest computer, capable of sustaining 1,000 trillion operations per second.
Scientists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and IBM worked on the computer for years.
The Energy Department and IBM Corp. announced the breakthrough Monday.
The computer will be used to help maintain the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman says the new computer, named Roadrunner, also will be used to help solve global energy problems and "open new windows of knowledge" in basic research.
The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and IBM worked for six years to achieve the world record computer speed.