The artificial sun of China reaches temperatures of 100 million degrees thanks to the breakthrough of nuclear fusion

China has taken a big step forward in the search for nuclear fusion – an almost limitless source of clean, cheap energy that would harness energy in the same way as the Sun. Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that their "artificial sun" – a fusion reactor experiment – had reached a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius. It's six times warmer than the center of the actual sun.

Scientists from around the world are striving to achieve nuclear fusion. Unlike nuclear fission, which divides atoms to create energy, fusion involves the joining of lighter atomic nuclei to form a heavier nucleus. This reaction produces plasma, which is a state of matter.

The major problem of nuclear fusion lies in the conditions necessary for its creation: extremely high pressures and temperatures of about 150 million degrees Celsius (270 million degrees Fahrenheit). To put this in perspective, the center of the sun is around 15 million degrees Celsius.

To harness energy, the plasma must be suspended inside a reactor. But as on the Sun, the plasma is subject to splinters. If this happens and the plasma touches the reactor wall, it can easily damage it.

Advanced experimental superconducting Tokamak of China, or "artificial sun", as it is called better. HIPS / EAST team

Scientists from the Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, are working on an experiment to achieve nuclear fusion since 2006. The program – Advanced Experimental Tokamak Superconductor (EST) -Is known as the "artificial sun". & # 39; because of the nature of what scientists are trying to achieve.

In recent years, scientists working on the project have announced a number of breakthroughs. Last year, they said they managed to suspend the plasma in a steady state for more than 100 seconds – a world record for that success.

The team announced that it has managed to generate plasma at a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius. They said that it was one of the fundamental elements of the merger. Achieving this milestone is therefore a major success in finding this source of energy.

While generating plasma at such high temperatures, many milestones will have to be crossed before fusion becomes a reliable source of energy. These challenges include building a reactor capable of confining and suspending the plasma, then scaling this expensive equipment until it becomes commercially viable.