Distributed Computing

Imagine math calculations with so many iterations not a super-computer could
deal with them in under 50 or more years' time. How to solve this? Break the
problem into little pieces... And scatter them around to millions of little
processors to work on them. It will take long but it be a lot more faster.

That's the basic idea behind of a number of research projects that have a "zillion calculations" to explore.

Folding @ Home - distributed computing is one of these projects, this on under development at Standford University. It's goal is "to understand protein folding, protein
aggregation, and related diseases". There are a number of sites related to this projects, in a number of languages, maintained by volunteers that what to help out, lending their iddle processors to a greater good.

Check it out :-)