Semantic “search engine” launches today

Semantic search engine Wolfram Alpha has launched today, potentially changing the way users find information online.

The service, developed by UK physicist Stephen Wolfram, responds to queries by searching through a database and providing a direct answer, including graphs and charts if relevant, rather than providing a list of links as Google does.

Wolfram says that the service is a “computation knowledge engine”, which can find known facts such as the height of the Eiffel Tower as well as carry out mathematical queries and plot statistics and charts.

Wolfram Alpha has about 10,000 CPUs spread across five data centres that it uses to generate answers, with staff at Wolfram Research ensuring these can be displayed by the system.