China creates HISTORY! Its ‘Artificial Sun’ manages to sustain 100-million-degree heat for…
China has made another significant advancement in its nuclear fusion research with the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), known as the country’s “artificial sun.” The reactor successfully sustained plasma for 1,000 seconds, surpassing its previous record of 403 seconds (17.76 minutes) set in 2023, as reported by Chinese media.
Nuclear fusion, which aims to mimic the energy production of the sun, has been a long-standing goal for scientists, but achieving the necessary temperatures above 100 million degrees Celsius and maintaining stable operations has always been a challenge. By stabilizing the system for 1,000 seconds, experts believe they have reached an important milestone in improving fusion technology.
Song Yuntao, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explained that for fusion reactors to operate effectively, they must achieve stable, high-efficiency operation for thousands of seconds, enabling self-sustained plasma circulation, which is crucial for continuous energy generation.
While the reactor has not yet reached “ignition” — the point where nuclear fusion generates its own energy and sustains the reactions — this new record is an encouraging step towards creating prolonged, confined plasma loops that could power future reactors.
Understanding Fusion Reactors
Nuclear fusion works by replicating the sun’s process of fusing light atoms under extreme heat and pressure to create heavier atoms, which releases energy. While the sun uses immense pressure to drive this reaction, Earth-based reactors depend on achieving extremely high temperatures. Although fusion holds great potential for providing abundant and clean energy, current reactors still consume more energy than they produce.
EAST and nuclear fusion
Chinese scientists have been running the EAST fusion reactor since 2006, conducting hundreds of thousands of tests. Encouraged by its success, China has already begun building a new generation of fusion research facilities in Anhui Province to speed up the development and use of fusion energy.
Nuclear fusion is considered the holy grail of energy because it powers the Sun, where atomic nuclei combine to release huge amounts of energy. This process is the opposite of fission, which is used in nuclear power plants and weapons, where heavy atoms are split into smaller ones.
Unlike fission, fusion doesn’t produce harmful greenhouse gases and poses less risk of accidents or stolen nuclear material. By mimicking the sun’s natural process, scientists believe fusion could provide nearly unlimited energy, helping solve the energy crisis and enabling humanity to explore beyond our solar system.