National Center for Computational Sciences

Since the 1950s, scientists have believed that fusion—the nuclear reaction that powers our Sun—could one day be utilized to help meet humankind’s ever-increasing demand for energy. But controlling the fusion reaction in order to cleanly and efficiently produce power is a complex and elusive endeavor. Researchers employing scientific computing have made great advances towards this goal, and as computational resources continue to grow and improve, the day when fusion power becomes a reality is drawing closer.

Today, more than 400 nuclear fission reactors operate in 31 countries, splitting heavy atomic nuclei to produce heat that drives steam turbines, which in turn produce the electricity humankind uses to power modern civilization. Generating next to no carbon, fission reactors contribute 6.5% of the world’s energy and 15.7% of its electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. While reactor construction worldwide dropped over the two decades following the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, recent concerns about energy independence and global warming have rekindled investment in fission. But as populous China and India increase their standards of living and energy appetites, fission alone will not be able to meet the world’s growing power needs. Even maintaining its proportionate contribution to world energy consumption would require construction of many more reactors—to replace decommissioned ones and meet increasing demand—as well as expanded solutions for dealing with radioactive waste. What’s a world hungry for energy—and getting hungrier—to do?

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