China builds an "artificial sun" 6 times hotter than our "natural sun"

China builds an "artificial sun" of up to 100 million degrees Celsius

Last month, we announced that a team of scientists from Chengdu's Micro Research Electronics System Research Institute (CASC) in China had developed an "artificial moon" eight times brighter than the natural moon. to replace the country's streetlights by 2020.

At present, a team from the Hefei Physical Science Institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has announced that its Experimental Superconducting Tokamak Experimental Reactor (EAST) has reached a new temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius.

EAST has been called an "artificial sun" because it reproduces the process the sun uses to produce energy. It burns at 100 million degrees Celsius, which is six times warmer than the heart of the sun. The central temperature of the sun is about 15 million degrees Celsius. The state-of-the-art reactor is designed to turn hydrogen into profitable green energy.

"Scientists have conducted experiments on plasma equilibrium and instability, containment and transport, plasma-wall interaction and energetic particle physics to demonstrate H-mode operation at the state of balance in the long run with good control of the impurity, the exhaust using a type ITER tungsten divertor, "wrote the institute in an article published in his communicated.

Our sun generates light and heat through a process called nuclear fusion when two hydrogen nuclei combine to produce a huge amount of energy. Scientists believe that nuclear fusion occurs at 100 million degrees Celsius. However, since these two hydrogen nuclei are normally resistant, it takes great temperatures to overcome their opposing forces.

Reaching over 100 million degrees Celsius is therefore an important step because it is the minimum temperature required to create the conditions conducive to nuclear fusion on Earth.

The goal of EST is to understand the nuclear fusion process before building a complete reactor and using it as a source of alternative energy on Earth in the future. The process promises more energy and is much safer than fission, producing almost no dangerous nuclear waste.

"Nuclear fusion is probably the best way for people to have energy. In terms of raw materials, the deuterium and tritium required for nuclear fusion are almost inexhaustible in the oceans. In addition, nuclear fusion does not produce radioactive waste, so it is extremely respectful of the environment, "said the researchers in a statement released recently.

Matthew Hole, an associate professor at the Australian National University, told ABC News that the feat was a milestone for the science of nuclear fusion and could be the solution to global energy problems.

"This is certainly a milestone for China's nuclear fusion program and an important development for the world," said Dr. Hole.

"The advantage is simple in that it is a very important basic load [continuous] energy production, with zero greenhouse gas emissions and no long-lived radioactive waste.

The research group in charge of the EUT has declared that it has taken this decisive step by using various new methods of heating and plasma control; However, they managed to maintain the record temperature for about 10 seconds.

Hole added that nuclear fusion reactors avoid the risks associated with current nuclear fission reactors, which can be turned into dangerous weapons and are likely to collapse with catastrophic consequences.

The artificial sun was designed and manufactured by China in 2006. EAST is 11 meters high, 8 meters in diameter and weighs 400 tons. According to China Daily, China is the first country to have designed and developed such equipment itself.