What if the future of energy could be as limitless as the stars? As nuclear fission powers today’s reactors, researchers are looking toward nucl

AI Meets Fusion: CMU, Princeton Join Forces to Pursue Clean, Abundant Power

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2024-11-07 15:30:20

What if the future of energy could be as limitless as the stars? As nuclear fission powers today’s reactors, researchers are looking toward nuclear fusion as a cleaner, safer, and long-lasting source of energy. 

Nuclear power plants are largely considered as one of the most reliable sources of energy. Inside the plants, reactors use fission to heat water into steam, which is then used to spin turbines and produce carbon-free electricity. However, nuclear fission produces nuclear waste, which requires great amounts of regulation for safe storage and disposal. 

Nuclear fusion, on the other hand, does not create long term radioactive waste. For years, scientists and experts have been looking to harness the power of nuclear fusion, but there has been no long term success due to the incredible amounts of pressure and high temperatures required in the nuclear fusion process.  

The Nuclear Fusion Project is the result of a collaboration between Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute research professor Jeff Schneider, students from both the Robotics Institute and Machine Learning Department, and the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab . With funding from the Department of Energy, the team has been able to make significant advancements using artificial intelligence (AI) to help control the challenging dynamics of nuclear fusion. 

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