SCIENTISTS have achieved a remarkable breakthrough in the pursuit of creating an “artificial sun” that could be the source of unlimited energy.
Researchers hope the machine will help harness the power of nuclear fusion, which can produce sustainable clean energy by mimicking reactions that naturally occur inside the sun.
The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), dubbed China’s ‘artificial sun’[/caption]
A technician walks past the lower cylinder of the cryostat, which provides the high vacuum, ultra-cool environment for the[/caption]
Chinese scientists constructing a nuclear fusion reactor were able to achieve a sustained plasma temperature exceeding 100 million degrees for 1,066 seconds – making a world record.
It is a major leap forward to bring nuclear fusion closer to reality and create and unlimited source of energy that could burn a whopping seven times hotter than the sun.
Scientists working at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) facility achieved the breakthrough using a system designed to mimic the fusion reactions at the core of the sun by using hydrogen and deuterium gases as fuel.
They say that viable nuclear fusion on Earth will require sustained plasma temperatures hotter than the sun to compensate for our planet’s energy needs.
The temperature at the core of the sun is estimated to be around 15 million degrees Celsius.
Song Yuntao, EAST’s director, said: “To achieve self-sustaining plasma and enable fusion power plants to generate electricity continuously, a fusion device must operate highly efficiently in a stable state for thousands of seconds.”
However, building a reactor capable of handling sustained nuclear fusion is still a great challenge for scientists.
It would need special fortified walls made of special materials that can survive out-of-this-world conditions, South China Morning Post reports.
Zhou Haishan, a professor at Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, said: “Developing wall materials that are both resilient and resistant to damage is extremely difficult.
“To test such materials, we need advanced simulation environments.”
In 2023, EAST managed to burn hot plasma for nearly seven minutes, smashing the previous record of 403 seconds.
China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) is in charge of getting the resources together and creating the useful tool being dubbed an “artificial sun” by the state-owned company.
The country aims to build the first industrial prototype fusion reactor by 2035 before having the clever technology available for large-scale commercial use by 2050.
Nuclear fusion is often referred to as an “artificial sun” because it has very similar properties to the Sun in our universe.
The Chinese device is set to generate energy by heating hydrogen atoms to over 100million degrees Celsius before fusing them into heavier atoms.
If this can become a reality, nuclear fusion could be a safe, clean and almost limitless source of energy.
Gong Xianzu, head of division at EAST observes data during an experiment[/caption]
A model of Honghuang 70 full high-temperature superconducting Tokamak device on display[/caption]
