Artificial Sun

by+Li+Zhuoxi

Chinese scientists recently announced that they set a world record by achieving over 100 seconds of steady-state H-mode operation of Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak （EAST）. This milestone sets a solid technological foundation for the development and utilization of clean energy in the field of international nuclear fusion.

EAST， dubbed an “artificial sun，” is an experimental device designed to harness fusion energy.

Nuclear fusion is considered the energy of the future. A 1GW power station requires 500，000 tons of coal， and a nuclear power plant of the same capacity requires 30 tons of nuclear fuel. Yet a thermonuclear fusion plant only requires 100 kilograms of water and lithium to generate the same amount of electricity.

The “tokamak” concept uses a powerful magnetic field to confine plasma in the shape of a torus. Magnetic fields are used for confinement since no solid material can withstand the extremely high temperature of the plasma needed to produce controlled thermonuclear fusion power， or an“artificial sun.”

Based on the tokamak， researchers at the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences enabled China to independently design and construct EAST in 10 years. The facility is 11 meters tall， with a diameter of eight meters， and weighs 400 tons. The fourth generation of experimental Chinese nuclear fusion devices， its purpose is facilitating nuclear fusion reactions under high temperature with the large amount of deuterium and tritium in seawater， to provide continuous clean energy for mankind.

Technological breakthroughs with the artificial sun will help solve the nuclear power dilemma. Nuclear fusion technology does not produce radioactive materials that pollute the environment. Controlled fusion reactions can be carried out steadily in thin gas， making it clean and safe.

In the latest experiment， EAST created steady-state highconstrained plasma-emission for 101.2 seconds at a temperature of 50 million degrees Celsius.endprint