In our world of AI-dominated algorithms, some nuclear physicists prefer to do science the old-fashioned way. And this newly developed physics-based, AI-free algorithm may be the breakthrough needed for small nuclear reactors to take off in earnest. A recent paper published in Progress in Nuclear Energy describes an algorithm that enables nuclear microreactors—transportable, mini reactors […]
5,500 Superconducting Wires Survive Intense Testing for World’s Largest Fusion Reactor
Stakeholders around the world are vying to realize nuclear fusion—a fossil fuel alternative that promises maximum energy generation with minimal environmental risk. Behind the efforts to build the world’s largest fusion reactor is an equally gigantic global collaboration: ITER, which has just announced a major advance in its quest to prove fusion’s viability. In a […]
Picking a Spot for NASA’s Lunar Nuclear Reactor Is Trickier Than It Sounds
In a bold, strategic move for the U.S., acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced plans on Aug. 5, 2025, to build a nuclear fission reactor for deployment on the lunar surface in 2030. Doing so would allow the United States to gain a foothold on the Moon by the time China plans to land the […]
The U.S. Is Testing Tiny Nuclear Reactors That Can Go Practically Anywhere
In contrast to other technological advances, the objective for next-generation nuclear reactors seems to be to scale down, not up—an initiative backed by the Department of Energy (DOE). Earlier this month, the DOE announced a conditional agreement made with private firms Westinghouse and Radiant to conduct the first reactor tests at its Demonstration on Microreactor […]
Record-Breaking Fusion Lab More Than Doubles Its 2022 Energy Breakthrough
The world’s only fusion experiment that actually gives back more energy than it takes in is now breaking its own records. According to TechCrunch, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently pushed its fusion yield—first to 5.2 megajoules, and then to 8.6 megajoules—more than doubling the energy released in its historic […]
China Plans Ambitious Nuclear Fusion Target For 2030
China has set its sights on a new fusion-fission power plant that could be up and running by the end of the decade. The reactor is called Xinghuo; it will reportedly cost $27.6 billion and will be built on central China’s Yaohu Science Island, according to the South China Morning Post. Because Xinghuo is a […]