Supercomputers Critical to Real-World Energy Initiatives, Says Secretary of Energy

By

The most common solutions to helping solve America's oil crisis include the creation of alternative fuel sources and more efficient ways to process and distribute power. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu believes that a fairly untapped resource exists to take full advantage of these initiatives: supercomputers.

In a recent interview with Forbes, Chu explains how the unequaled power of today's supercomputers can help bridge the gap between theory and experiment by providing a third pillar of understanding – simulation.

Using these machines, scientists can simulate live situations to unearth real-world results, rather than relying on static algorithms and theoretical equations that need to be tested over a period of years.

Chu believes supercomputers hold the answers to questions about energy, climate and weather that follow unknown governing rules.

"A scientist can now simulate the movements, actions and effects of constituent particles – the atoms, molecules and pieces that define a system – with incredible depth," Chu told Forbes. "You throw it all into the hopper and let the supercomputer crunch."

Chu referenced a few real-world examples of the fruit supercomputers can bear, including streamlined aircrafts, more efficient jet engines and a fairly simple-sounding plastic contraption that can be affixed to the underside of a truck, resulting in a fuel savings of between six and seven percent.

He also recalled the example of a diesel engine maker that used a supercomputer to model complex chemical reactions and turbulent flow inside the combustion chamber of an engine to build a prototype that followed their design to a T.

"They could go from simulation to production in just a single step," Chu told Forbes.

Supercomputers can even aid nuclear power – an energy source that Chu continues to advocate – by simulating complex flows to avoid common problems associated with reactors, Chu added. "Being able to simulate changes in a new reactor design is a very big deal, because it could mean not just saving months or years, but possibly even a decade of design time."

The U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is currently working on a new supercomputer, dubbed Titan, which should be completed by the end of 2012, putting the U.S. back on pace with Asian countries like China and Japan, who currently own the top 5 supercomputers in the world.




Edited by Braden Becker
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

TechZone360 Contributor

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

Can Science Outsmart Deepfake Deceivers? Klick Labs Proposes an Emerging Solution

By: Alex Passett    3/25/2024

Researchers at Klick Labs were able to identify audio deepfakes from authentic audio recordings via new vocal biomarker technology (alongside AI model…

Read More

Top 5 Best Ways to Integrate Technology for Successful Project-Based Learning

By: Contributing Writer    3/19/2024

Project-based learning, also popularly known as the PBL curriculum, emphasizes using and integrating technology with classroom teaching. This approach…

Read More

How to Protect Your Website From LDAP Injection Attacks

By: Contributing Writer    3/12/2024

Prevent LDAP injection attacks with regular testing, limiting access privileges, sanitizing user input, and applying the proper encoding functions.

Read More

Azure Cost Optimization: 5 Things You Can Do to Save on Azure

By: Contributing Writer    3/7/2024

Azure cost optimization is the process of managing and reducing the overall cost of using Azure. It involves understanding the resources you're using,…

Read More

Massive Meta Apps and Services Outage Impacts Users Worldwide

By: Alex Passett    3/5/2024

Meta's suite of apps and services are experiencing major global outages on Super Tuesday 2024.

Read More