Christopher Lazou. Oxford University
Press, New York, 1987. 227 pp. $45.
Computers have been assisting experimental and theoretical scientific investigations for several decades. Recently a new phenomenon has emerged, under the banner of supercomputers. The true distinguishing characteristic of supercomputers is their power to model accurately phenomena of the real world that have been inaccessible to either experimental or theoretical science. Supercomputing (perhaps more properly large-scale computer simulation) is beginning to be recognized as a third mode of scientific research.
In the last year or two, articles on the subject have appeared in numerous popular publications. Several new technical journals specializing in supercomputing have been started, but until recently there have been no general books devoted to the subject. Christopher Lazou, supercomputing coordinator at the University of London Computer Centre, attempts to remedy the situation with Supercomputers and their Use.
In 227 pages, he sets out to describe the history ...
