Scientists achieve stunning energy breakthrough with tech borrowed from video games: ‘A crucial technological innovation’

Scientists at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea developed an algorithm to improve the efficiency and stability of fusion energy, Interesting Engineering reported.

The algorithm detects particle collisions in fusion energy reactors — which disrupt the fusion process — 15 times faster than previous detection methods.

Fusion, the U.S. Department of Energy explains, is a form of nuclear energy. It differs from other forms of nuclear energy –– such as fission –– that require extractive uranium mining and produce radioactive waste.

While fission generates energy by splitting atoms, fusion does so by combining them. This process of combining atoms does not create waste, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Two hydrogen atoms fuse into one helium atom in fusion, and this reaction occurs and generates energy on the sun, the U.S. Department of Energy describes. But producing this reaction on our planet requires an immense amount of pressure and extremely high temperatures, which is why fusion energy is still being researched and not yet available as power, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

While fusion energy needs further development, the scientists’ breakthrough is a step toward application. The team used video game collision detection methods — which work by calculating the distance between two objects before they collide — as inspiration for the algorithm.

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The researchers applied and tested their algorithm on Virtual KSTAR, a digital replica of a fusion reactor called KSTAR in South Korea. They found that the algorithm reduced the calculations required to predict particle collisions in fusion reactors by 99.9%, Interesting Engineering reported, making the reactors more efficient and stable.

The team hopes to further develop the algorithm and explore the use of supercomputers to make it even more efficient, according to Interesting Engineering.

Fusion energy –– with breakthroughs such as the algorithm –– could provide a clean alternative to dirty energy, producing nearly 4 million times more energy per kilogram of fuel than coal or oil, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“The collision detection algorithm we developed serves as a crucial technological innovation,” Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology professor Eisung Yoon said.

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