Number 67 (Story #4), February 12, 1992 by Phillip F. Schewe and Ben Stein A CRAY 3 COMPUTER , performing 16 billion operations per second, accomplishes in one second a calculation that would have taken the Eniac (an early computer, c1946) 67 years. The technological revolution which made the Cray and other wonder machines possible is summarized in "Materials & Technology: The Role of Physics in Materials Research," a booklet prepared by the American Physical Society Division of Condensed Matter Physics and the Division of Materials Physics. Other items mentioned in the text include the following: in 1991 a million bits of memory were produced for every person on Earth; the highest density of transistors on chips doubles every 18 months; a mile-thick slab of optical fiber is more transparent than a 0.1-inch-thick pane of ordinary window glass. (Copies of the booklet can be obtained from the AIP Public Information Division; phone-212-661-9404.)