China’s Artificial Sun Reaches New Milestone After Generating a Superhot Fusion Plasma

China's "artificial sun" broke records in the field of nuclear fusion. Last week, it generated the strongest fusion.

China's Artificial Sun's New Milestone

On April 12, China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) after it generated a super-hot fusion plasma and sustained and confined it for 403 seconds. It brings commercial-scale fusion energy a step closer to reality.

According to South China Morning Post, it sustained the plasma for nearly seven minutes, four times longer than its previous record. Its previous record was 101 seconds in 2017.

According to Song Yuntao, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which constructed EAST, the fundamental significance of this new development is in its "high-confinement mode," under which the temperature and density of the plasma dramatically increase.

Song was quoted by the official news agency Xinhua saying the effort created a strong foundation for enhancing fusion reactors' technological and financial viability.

Additionally, the achievement represents a significant advancement for the team's work in fusion engineering, fundamental physics research, and project operation and maintenance, according to Song.

The record-breaking operation took his team a week to complete, and Song claimed they would have another sleepless night to celebrate.

David Kingham, co-founder and executive vice chairman of Tokamak Energy, also spoke with Newsweek and said the milestone was another significant achievement in fusion. He noted that it was made possible by using superconducting magnets. Long pulse durations with brief pulse intervals were required for sustained high power output in fusion power plants.

Tim Bestwick, the chief technology officer for the U.K. Atomic Energy Authority, explained that to accomplish it, they needed three things - machinery that could run for extended durations, send persistent heating power into the plasma, and be able to monitor and manage the plasma.

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What Is China's Artificial Sun?

Chinese "Artificial Sun" is called Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). It is an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor in Hefei, the capital of east China's Anhui Province. EAST has the internal designation HT-7U, per ABP Live.

EAST has been in operation since 2006, with the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science experimenting with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The 35-year partnership between China, the EU, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the U.K. has benefited. ITER, the largest tokamak machine in the world, is now being built in France with assistance from the U.S. and other countries. At the end of 2025, ITER is anticipated to produce its first plasma; full-scale operations are expected to start in 2035.

EAST's goal is to produce nuclear fusion similar to the Sun, utilizing deuterium to have a consistent supply of clean energy. One proton and one neutron comprise the hydrogen isotope deuterium, often known as heavy hydrogen.

Because it slows down neutrons in the reactor and has a lower likelihood of absorbing neutrons than hydrogen, deuterium is utilized as a moderator in nuclear reactors. The center of the real Sun reaches a temperature of 15 million degrees Celsius.

Contrary to fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, which are harmful to the environment, the raw elements needed for the Chinese "Artificial Sun" are virtually limitless on Earth.

In nuclear fusion, two or more atomic nuclei combine to form one heavier neutron containing much energy. A little mass is capable of producing a lot of energy. As a result, fusion energy is regarded as the "ultimate energy" for humanity's future.