By Aidan Stacy
Researchers at the University of Florida are turning to machine learning to help create the energy that powers the sun, leading the Earth towards cleaner energy.
The Sun is powered by nuclear fusion, and the researchers are using machine learning to accomplish it.
Machine learning is a form of Artificial Intelligence being used in this research in the form of Tokamak reactors. Tokamak reactors use a strong magnetic field generated by external coils, meant to confine a plasma at the temperatures required to release substantial quantities of fusion energy.
This specific research at UF is being broadly focused in three parts. The first part of the research is the physics of how to confine a fusion plasma at the extreme temperatures necessary to release a substantial quantity of fusion energy. Secondly, the research focuses on identifying materials that are able to survive the harsh environment present in a fusion device. Thirdly, the research focuses on developing the necessary nuclear technologies for capturing the released fusion energy, and realizing a sustainable fusion fuel cycle.
Trying to harness fusion power is not a new development with researchers and it is not limited to the University of Florida. Christopher McDevitt, Ph.D is a plasma physicist and nuclear engineering professor at UF.
“Fusion energy is a 70 year old international effort,” McDevitt said. “To be successful, temperatures of roughly 100 million degrees Kelvin must be achieved at the core of the fusion plasma, while also achieving a sufficient density and ‘energy confinement time’”.
If fusion energy were to successfully be accomplished through the tokamaks, the result would provide a carbon free form of energy.
“In terms of safety, while it is a form of nuclear energy, there is no plausible scenario where an accident at a fusion power plant would pose a public health threat,” McDevitt said. “In addition, no greenhouse gases would be admitted.”
Greenhouse gases are released from the burning of fossil fuels and they trap heat, which then leads to global warming. Coal is the energy source with the highest amount of pollution. Coal energy is generally used for producing electricity.
Carbon-free energy would provide benefits in a range of different ways, like reducing greenhouse gases, therefore reducing global warming. It will also help people who struggle with diseases like asthma.
According to MIT Climate Portal, coal contains more carbon than oil or gas.
Asthma, which makes it difficult for people diagnosed with it to breathe, is worsened when they’re in an area with high area pollution.
Linda Beronda is a 72-year-old woman who lives in Florida. Beronda was diagnosed with asthma when she was a child.
“Whenever anyone around me was just smoking in public, that always caused me to cough or make my chest hurt,” Beronda said. “It’s always particularly heightened in the spring, when the pollen comes out.”
Even though people with respiratory diseases are at a higher risk for carbon related issues, carbon air pollution is harmful to all people. Air pollution can cause people to become more at-risk for lung related issues. It also creates immune system issues and contributes to climate change.
“Over the years, I could have just gotten accustomed to the natural air around me, but I would love to have cleaner air, not just for me, but for the young people with asthma,” Beronda said.
These issues are what the researchers are attempting to combat, or improve with fusion energy.
However, there are some actions that are raising concerns amongst the researchers in the lab at UF. Within the tokamak reactors, there have been some “off-normal” activities. Normally, Tokamaks seek to control a fusion plasma stably.
“Off-normal events in tokamaks correspond to instances where an instability develops which can release a substantial fraction, or even the majority, of the plasma thermal and magnetic energy,” McDevitt said. “Such events have the potential to substantially damage the fusion device, hence researchers have sought means of avoiding or mitigating their impact.”
While the Tokamak reactors “have pushed the forefront of magnetic technology,” according to McDevitt, fusion energy is difficult to produce on Earth because of the size of the sun.
“The sun is a massive object, something of this scale cannot be reproduced on Earth,” McDevitt said. “Fusion requires reaching temperatures similar to the center of the sun, and to achieve it with an economical fusion power plant, this needs to be done with a much smaller device.”
The researchers at UF are continuing to face the challenges of harnessing fusion energy on Earth, but if the production is successful, then people and the environment would benefit from a cleaner, renewable form of energy.