Stefan Mileschin

What could possibly go wrong?

Google’s AI Deep Mind has been brushing up on nuclear reactors and now can control the fiery plasma inside a tokamak nuclear fusion reactor.

For those who don’t know a tokamak is a doughnut-shaped vessel designed to contain a nuclear fusion reaction where hydrogen atoms go to get smashed at unfathomably high temperatures, creating a whirling, roiling plasma that's hotter than the surface of the sun. So a bit like a Loughborough disco only less smelly.

Finding smart ways to control and confine that plasma will be key to unlocking the potential of nuclear fusion, which has been mooted as the clean energy source of the future for decades.

DeepMind has been working on a joint research project with the Swiss Plasma Centre to develop an AI for controlling a nuclear fusion reaction. In stars, which are powered by fusion, the sheer gravitational mass is enough to pull hydrogen atoms together and overcome their opposing charges.

On Earth, scientists instead use powerful magnetic coils to confine the nuclear fusion reaction, nudging it into the desired position and shaping it like a potter manipulating clay on a wheel.

The coils have to be carefully controlled to prevent the plasma from touching the sides of the vessel: this can damage the walls and slow down the fusion reaction. (There's little risk of an explosion as the fusion reaction cannot survive without magnetic confinement).

https://fudzilla.com/news/ai/54393-google-ai-gets-nukes