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Low-cost supercomputing workstations launched A series of supercomputing workstations for use in networks or as stand-alone desk computers has been introduced by Sun Microsystems of Mountain View, Calif., at what the company says is a fraction of the prices of superminicomputers and up to 10 times their power. The Motorola 68030 microprocessor runs at 10 million instructions per second (MIPS) and the system does 1.6 million floating point operations per second (megaflops). Among uses targeted for this magnitude of comp u t i n g and graphics power are chemical plant design and computational chemistry. The company prices a basic system with a monochrome monitor, 8 megabytes of memory, but no disk drive at $40,000. By convention, a byte is an 8-bit word, although the Sun products are 32-bit machines. This basic system is aimed at manufacturers of instruments and process equipment who want to put a computer on board. At the high end, a unit with 128 megabytes of main memory, 2.3gigabyte disk, half-inch tape drive, and two data center cabinets sells for $200,000. This is Sun's entry for networks of Sun workstations or computers and/or those of other manufacturers. Key to the computing power of the new workstations is a scalable
processor architecture (SPARC), a reduced instruction set, a variant of the Unix operating system, and optimized compilers for C, FORTRAN, Pascal, LISP, and Smalltalk languages. For example, SPARC sets aside 120 registers, a large number. This means that the computer spends less time "off the c h i p , " which would slow things down. And the relatively small 89-instruction set increases speeds by eliminating those infrequently called for. Unix was developed at AT&T Bell Laboratories beginning in 1972. Among its strengths are networking and ability to handle several tasks at once. Unix also has become an industry standard, and its use is part of Sun's open-architecture approach to product development and marketing. Elsewhere in this open-systems approach, Sun has licensed integrated circuit chip technology for the SPARC architecture to Fujitsu Microelectronics, Santa Clara, CalifsCypress Semiconductor Corp., San Jose, Calif.; and Bipolar Integrated Technology, Beaverton, Ore. Each of these will produce the chip using its own proprietary technology for sale to third-party companies for product development. One firm that has already taken up the challenge is Definicon Systems, Newbury Park., Calif. Definicon has developed a $3000 circuit
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Ideal refractory! lb yttrium's unmatched affinity for oxygen (negative free energy of formation) add an oxide phase stability all the way to a high melting point of 24S0C. Note also the bandfor the irivalent light lanthanides (La through Gd).
THE OXIDE THAT CAN TAKE ( T . . . Y 2 0 3 . . . Ask the man who casts reactive metals, like uranium or titanium. He may well be using either an all-yttria crucible or one coated with yttria. Transparent forms (some with lanthana) also have refractory qualities —as for discharge envelopes in sodium vapor lamps. And as a key constituent in advanced ceramics, yttria helps sinter silicon nitride and sialons for cutting tools and high-temperature parts—and stabilize zirconia for oxygen sensors, turbine barrier coatings and wearresistant engine elements.
AND GIVE IT ...give to the newY/Ba/Cu/O superconductors the specific crystalline structure needed for zero resistance to electron flow at a "hot" 95 K. \$^
UNOCAL * MOLYCORP MOLYCORP, INC. • A Unocal Company 709 Westchester Ave., White Plains, NYT0604 Tel. 914/997-8880 • TWX 710/568-0305 • The lanthanides and their companion, Y, come from Molycorp's California mine, which supplies over half of free world need. CC||]L1IC;I^
Worker generates electronic computer-aided
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THE L A N T H A N I D E
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CIRCLE 27 ON READER SERVICE CARD July 27, 1987 C&EN
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CHIRON LABORATORIES A.S JARLEVEIEN 4.7000TRONDHEIM NORWAY TELEPHONE(+47-7) 5245 06 TELEX 55159 CHIRO N CIRCLE 5 1 ON READER
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