You’ve heard that the first computer was the size of a small house, right? And how amazing it is that we all carry computers around in our pockets now? Well, some computers still are the size of houses—or even apartment buildings. These huge computers are so big because they’re super fast. And they are capable of some amazing things.

   Exascale supercomputers are the next frontier in computing. They can quickly analyze massive volumes of data and realistically simulate many of the extremely complex processes and relationships behind the fundamental forces of the universe—in a way that’s never been done before. Many industries and systems could be affected, including precision medicine, climate science, and nuclear physics. Here’s a little more about how exascale computing works and how it stands to change the world.

   Exascale computing is the next milestone in the development of....