China’s Artificial Sun Broke Records After Running For 100 Seconds At 120 Million Degrees

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) generated a plasma temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for 100 seconds before increasing it to 160 million degrees for almost another quarter of a minute. The apparatus, which is headquartered at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, broke the previous record of sustaining a plasma temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius for 100 seconds.

The EAST is one of several ‘artificial sun’ technologies now under construction as countries compete to be the first to build a reliable nuclear fusion reactor. After first turning up the device six months ago, China has taken another step toward being able to generate endless clean energy through nuclear fusion which is a goal commonly regarded as “the holy grail of sustainable energy”. The EAST gadget appeared to be capable of generating temperatures more than 10 times as hot as the surface of the sun, which burns at around 15 million degrees Celsius, by retaining a peak temperature of 160 million degrees.

According to Li Miao, director of the physics department at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, while speaking to The Global Times, China’s state-owned newspaper, the next target might see scientists seek to run the gadget at a steady temperature for as long as a week. Li Miao claimed that the breakthrough represented substantial progress, and the ultimate goal should be to maintain a stable temperature for an extended period of time.

The newest test run broke previous records set by the same device, as well as South Korea’s very own artificial sun, the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR), which was observed to run at 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds last December. The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, which includes the EAST artificial sun, is the largest global scientific collaboration effort since the building of the International Space Station three decades ago.

China, the EU, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States are all working on the reactor, according to the Global Times. Around 9% of China’s research and development is funded by the country. Experts predicted that practical nuclear fusion could be realized over the next 30 years if the device continues to improve at its current rate. By 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency hopes to be able to maintain a plasma temperature of 100 million degrees for 300 seconds.

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