Google has partnered with US-based fusion company Tri Alpha Energy (TAE) to develop a new computer algorithm to accelerate experiments on plasmas.
The new ‘Optometrist algorithm’ uses high-powered computation to find new and better solutions to critical problems. It is the result of a multi-year relationship between TAE and Google that began in 2014 to apply machine learning to advance plasma research.
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Developments in nuclear fusion is hoped to unearth a clean, safe, and limitless energy supply. However, 60 years of research has yet to achieve commercial-scale nuclear fusion.
The new algorithm utilises the stochastic perturbation technique to incorporate an element of human choice into computations. This method is similar to that used in large-scale population and atmospheric models.
Stochastic perturbation has led to the discovery of unexpected plasma confinement results, increasing net heating power within TAE’s field-reversed configuration plasma generator, which represents more than 50% reduction in energy loss rate and concomitant increase in ion temperature and total plasma energy.
TAE president and chief technology officer Michl Binderbauer said: “Results like this might take years to solve without the power of advanced computation to rapidly scale our understanding of the complex properties of plasma.
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By GlobalData“This research, years in the making, has already allowed us to advance our science, and I am grateful for the longstanding collaboration with Google as it illustrates how, with a lean start-up design, TAE can direct research to outcomes that specifically advance and accelerate our mission to generate clean, safe and abundant energy through fusion technology.”
