The "artificial sun" of China reaches a temperature 6 times higher than that of the sun

The Chinese "artificial sun" has reached a temperature of 180 million F with a heating power of 10 megawatts, according to scientists at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where the experiment was conducted. It's six times hotter than the center of the sun. The device, the Advanced Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), is designed to harness the energy of nuclear fusion, the same process that is used to propel the stars.

Most living things depend on nuclear fusion. If the sun stopped working, so did we. But the merger can also offer a clean energy solution in the future.

For a fusion reaction to occur, two atomic nuclei fuse under extremely high pressures and temperatures reaching 270 million ºF. Once merged, they release masses of energy that can be captured and potentially used to power cities. Unlike burning fossil fuels, carbon emissions are zero. And unlike nuclear fission, it is relatively safe.

"The news from EST is very exciting," William Dorland, a physicist who studies nuclear fusion reactors at the University of Maryland, told Digital Trends. The result is not unprecedented – the record temperatures in the world are up to five times higher – but Dorland, who did not participate in the research, said the result was exciting, especially thanks to the device design. It is designed for "magnetic confinement fusion".

"The challenge of magnetic confinement melting is to produce high temperatures in the fuel, while maintaining high density and excellent thermal insulation," Dorland said. "Achieving these three performance goals simultaneously is very difficult."

Nuclear fusion is difficult to start and even harder to maintain. It is difficult to build a reactor capable of containing the immense pressure and temperature required by the reaction. But fusion labs and startups around the world have begun to turn the tide, reports the BBC, and see a future propelled by the merger.

"This is the" SpaceX moment "of the merger," Christofer Mowry, General Manager of Canadian General Fusion, told BBC. "This is the moment when the maturation of the science of fusion combines with the emergence of key technologies of the 21st century, such as additive manufacturing and high temperature superconductors. The merger is no longer in 30 years. "

There are still many milestones to come. The creation of a reactor capable of confining the liquid and scaling the device to a commercially viable size are among the two biggest hurdles.