Technology

Computing Power Addresses Nuclear Energy Concerns

Scientists at the Nuclear Science and Technology Division of the U.S. Department of Energy\'s Oak Ridge National Lab are bringing together decades of nuclear en...

Federal News Radio Custom Media@WTOPWFEDcustom

May 25, 2010 7:57 pm

< a min read

Scientists at the Nuclear Science and Technology Division of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Lab are bringing together decades of nuclear energy and safety expertise with high-performance computing to effectively address a range of nuclear energy – and security-related – challenges.

One of the goals of the Lab’s Nuclear Science and Technology Division is to bring together what we know about nuclear energy, nuclear national security modeling, and simulation capabilities with high-performance computing. That will solve problems that were previously unthinkable, or impractical, in terms of the computing power required to address them.

One example is using computational methods and software to simulate radiation, in order to support the design and safety of nuclear facilities.