China’s artificial sun sets a new World record
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China has successfully made a new record which is a league of its own.
China's artificial sun sets a new world record as it achieved a plasma temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for a period of 101 seconds.
The huge accomplishment is a key step toward the test running of a fusion reactor. Announced by Gong Xianzu who is a researcher at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP), was in charge of the experiment conducted in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province.
The research at the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST), or the Chinese "artificial sun," also realized a plasma temperature of 160 million degrees Celsius, lasting for 20 seconds.
The ultimate goal of EAST, located at ASIPP in Hefei, is to create nuclear fusion like the Sun, using deuterium abound in the sea to provide a steady stream of clean energy.
It is estimated that the deuterium in one liter of seawater can produce, through fusion reaction, the amount of energy equivalent to 300 liters of gasoline.
Around 300 scientists and engineers mobilized to support the operation of the doughnut-shaped experiment facility, which includes a vacuum system, RF wave system, laser scattering system, and microwave system. Preparation and upgrading work for the experiment started about a year ago, the institute said.
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"It's a huge achievement in China's physics and engineering fields. The experiment's success lays the foundation for China to build its own nuclear fusion energy station," said Song Yuntao, director of ASIPP.
One of the most comprehensive frontiers of today's physics, Fusion energy requires top scientific research ability and massive experimental instruments.
