Fusion Modeling: Using Big Computers to Understand One of the Universe's Biggest Secrets

Fusion energy is a possible long-term energy solution to provide the energy needed to drive economic growth and social development. Harnessing the energy of the Sun and stars here on Earth requires a detailed understanding of the behavior of matter at extreme temperature and density conditions. Massive simulations, using up to one million computer processors (equivalent to hundreds of thousands of laptops working simultaneously) play a critical role in this research. They allow us to test different theories and explore different fusion approaches, such as fast ignition of the fusion fuel. Postdoctoral Fellow at Lawrence Livermore National Lab Frederico Fiuza discusses the challenges associated with fusion modeling, and how the outstanding computational resources and advanced computer graphics at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory help us to create a miniature Sun on Earth. Series: "Lawrence Livermore National Lab Science on Saturday" [Science] [Show ID: 28464]