Technology developed at Argonne can help narrow the field of candidates for molten salts, a new study demonstrates. Scientists are searching for new materials to advance the next generation of nuclear power plants. In a recent study, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory showed how artificial intelligence could help pinpoint the right types of molten salts, a key component for advanced nuclear reactors. The ability to absorb and store heat makes molten salt important to clean energy and national climate goals. Molten salts can serve as both coolant and fuel in nuclear power reactors that generate electricity without emitting greenhouse gases.

Abstract: Having the Fifth Generation (5G) mobile communication system recently rolled out in many countries, the wireless community is now setting its eyes on the next era of Sixth Generation (6G). Inheriting from 5G its focus on industrial use cases, 6G is envisaged to become the infrastructural backbone of future intelligent industry. Especially, a combination of 6G and the emerging technologies of Digital Twins (DT) will give impetus to the next evolution of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) systems. Here we provide a vision for the future 6G industrial DT ecosystem, which shall bridge the gaps between humans, machines, and the data infrastructure, and therewith enable numerous novel application scenarios. Subsequently, we explore the technical challenges that are brought by such ambitions, and identify the key enabling technologies that may help tackle down these issues.

On the evening of Sunday, Sept. 23, 1962, millions of American families finished their dinners, turned on their televisions and were introduced to The Jetsons, a cartoon sitcom produced by the legendary team of Hanna-Barbera. Set in 2062, The Jetsons captured the technological optimism of the time and projected it into a space-age, gadget-fueled vision of the future, inviting its viewers to imagine the dazzling possibilities that the current wave of technological achievement could one day realize. In the end, The Jetsons was a rather tame, pedestrian sitcom about a family that reinforced traditional gender and family roles, knew little of the social issues of the time (it was, for example, unbearably white), and effectively glorified the consumerist, suburban lifestyle. But as a template for a technology-driven American future, it was no less than iconic. The Jetsons debuted five years after the Soviets had launched Sputnik, four years after the opening of the first commercial nuclear power plant in the U.S., and 16 months after President John F. Kennedy set a goal of putting a man on the moon by the decade's end. Fifteen years earlier, scientists at AT&T's Bell Labs invented the transistor, and soon after, miniature (by contemporary standards) transistor radios were found in many households.

Drones working together can create large 3D-printed structures made of foam or cement. The experiments are paving the way for a future where swarms of drones could help construct extremely tall or intricate buildings and other structures like bridges without the need for support scaffolding or large construction machinery. "We're talking about being able to build something of limitless size, theoretically speaking," says Robert Stuart-Smith at the University of Pennsylvania. Such creations would only be restricted by structural engineering constraints and factors like drone flight logistics. The drone swarm construction takes inspiration from animals such as wasps and termites.

Were you unable to attend Transform 2022? Check out all of the summit sessions in our on-demand library now! The world has averted the climate crisis thanks to finally adopting nuclear power for the majority of power generation. Conventional wisdom is now that nuclear power plants are a problem of complexity; Three Mile Island is now a punchline rather than a disaster. Fears around nuclear waste and plant blowups have been alleviated primarily through better software automation.

Unlike fossil fuel-fired power plants, nuclear power plants provide large amounts of low-carbon electricity. But the expense of running these plants has made it difficult for them to stay open. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are building systems that could make nuclear energy more competitive using artificial intelligence. Argonne is midway through a $1 million, three-year project to explore how smart, computerized systems could change the economics. Funded by the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy's Nuclear Energy Enabling Technologies program, the project aims to create a computer architecture that could detect problems early and recommend appropriate actions to human operators.

Argonne scientists are building systems to streamline operations and maintenance at reactors. Nuclear power plants provide large amounts of electricity without releasing planet-warming pollution. But the expense of running these plants has made it difficult for them to stay open. If nuclear is to play a role in the U.S. clean energy economy, costs must come down. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are devising systems that could make nuclear energy more competitive using artificial intelligence.

LEMONT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nuclear power plants provide large amounts of electricity without releasing planet-warming pollution. But the expense of running these plants has made it difficult for them to stay open. If nuclear is to play a role in the U.S. clean energy economy, costs must come down. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are devising systems that could make nuclear energy more competitive using artificial intelligence. Nuclear power plants are expensive in part because they demand constant monitoring and maintenance to ensure consistent power flow and safety.

Nuclear power plants provide large amounts of electricity without releasing planet-warming pollution. But the expense of running these plants has made it difficult for them to stay open. If nuclear is to play a role in the U.S. clean energy economy, costs must come down. Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory are devising systems that could make nuclear energy more competitive using artificial intelligence. Nuclear power plants are expensive in part because they demand constant monitoring and maintenance to ensure consistent power flow and safety.

Millions of shipments of nuclear and other radiological materials are moved in the U.S. every year for good reasons, including health care, power generation, research and manufacturing. But there remains the threat that bad actors in possession of stolen or illegally produced nuclear materials or weapons will try to smuggle them across borders for nefarious purposes. Texas A&M University researchers are making it harder for them to succeed. If border agents intercept illicit nuclear materials, investigators need to know who produced them and where they came from. Fortunately, nuclear materials carry certain forensic markers that can reveal valuable information, much like fingerprints can identify criminals.