> 2) What makes Fortran so much 'faster' at computation than C?

I think it's more like this: As long as the numerics is vectors, matrices and multidimensional arrays (no complex graph or tree data structures implemented with pointers, no string manipulation, no bit-level fiddling), a scientist or engineer who spent less than a week learning Fortran, can write code, almost in a first pass, with nice array notation, that is close to as performant as a relatively seasoned C-expert could write.