A nuclear fusion reactor can be controlled by a computer that thinks like a human brain to keep the reaction alive.
Nuclear fusion requires precise control of plasma to create a star on Earth, but the process is notoriously difficult to manage. This new controller uses neuromorphic logic, which treats fuel pellet injections like the neural spikes in a biological brain. This approach outperforms traditional modulation methods by reacting more naturally to the chaotic environment inside the reactor. It bridges the gap between biological intelligence and high-energy physics. Using the logic of a brain might be the key to making clean, infinite fusion energy a reality.
Fuelling fusion plasmas with pellets: Can neuromorphic control outperform Sigma-Delta modulation?
arXiv · 2604.26476
Nuclear fusion is a promising clean energy source in which deuterium and tritium fuse inside a magnetically confined plasma in a tokamak, releasing energy. A key challenge on the route to practical nuclear fusion is the control of the plasma density which has to be done through adding fuel in the form of deuterium and tritium to the plasma. Pellet injection, firing frozen fuel into the plasma, is used to accomplish this. Since the injection of a pellet causes an almost instantaneous increase in