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Category: nuclear energy

New AI method accelerates plasma heat defense in reactors

New AI method speeds up calculations to protect fusion reactors from plasma heat.

Scientists in the US have introduced a novel artificial intelligence (AI) approach that can protect fusion reactors from the extreme heat generated by plasma.

The new method, which is called HEAT-ML, was developed by researchers from Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

It is reportedly capable of quickly identifying magnetic shadows, which are critical areas protected from the intense heat of the plasma, and therefore help prevent potential problems before they start.

Unlocking the sun’s secret messengers: DUNE experiment set to reveal new details about solar neutrinos

Neutrinos—ghostly particles that rarely interact with normal matter—are the sun’s secret messengers. These particles are born deep within the sun, a byproduct of the nuclear fusion process which powers all stars.

Neutrinos escape the sun and stream through Earth in immense quantities. These particles are imprinted with information about the inner workings of the sun.

Our new theoretical paper published in Physical Review Letters shows that the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), currently under construction, will help us unlock the deepest secrets of these solar messengers.

Scientists explore real-time tsunami warning system on world’s fastest supercomputer

Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have helped develop an advanced, real-time tsunami forecasting system—powered by El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer—that could dramatically improve early warning capabilities for coastal communities near earthquake zones.

The exascale El Capitan, which has a theoretical peak performance of 2.79 quintillion calculations per second, was developed at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). As described in a preprint paper selected as a finalist for the 2025 ACM Gordon Bell Prize, researchers at LLNL harnessed the machine’s full computing power in a one-time, offline precomputation step, prior to the system’s transition to classified national-security work. The goal: to generate an immense library of physics-based simulations, linking earthquake-induced seafloor motion to resulting .

The paper is published on the arXiv preprint server.

Gold Survives 33,740°F, Overturning a 40-Year Physics Theory

Scientists have made the first-ever direct measurement of atomic temperatures in extreme materials, shattering a four-decade-old theory about how far solids can be superheated.

Using a powerful laser and ultrabright X-rays, researchers at SLAC and collaborating institutions heated gold to an astonishing 19,000 K, more than 14 times its melting point, while it remained solid. This breakthrough not only redefines the limits of matter under extreme conditions but also opens the door to new insights into planetary interiors, fusion energy research, and high-energy density physics.

Measuring the unmeasurable: cracking the heat code.

Experimental device demonstrates how electron beams reconfigure plasma structure

In a scientific first, South Korean scientists have provided experimental proof of “multi-scale coupling” in plasma, where interactions between phenomena at the microscopic level and macroscopic level influence each other. The findings could help advance nuclear fusion research and improve our fundamental understanding of the universe.

Plasma is often referred to as the fourth state of matter, distinct from solid, liquid and gaseous states. This unique state is formed when you heat a gas to such high temperatures that electrons are stripped away from their atoms, creating a mix of free-floating positively and negatively charged particles. This state of matter is the most abundant in the universe, and take place within it.

Proving multi-scale coupling has been a long-standing challenge in . But in a study published in Nature, a research team led by Dr. Jong Yoon Park from Seoul National University and Dr. Young Dae Yoon from the Asia Pacific Center for Theoretical Physics (APCTP) proved how microscopic phenomena induce macroscopic changes that affect the entire plasma system.

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