China’s ‘artificial sun’ has achieved a major milestone, bringing us closer to clean, near-limitless energy through nuclear fusion technology.
These reactors are called “artificial suns” because they mimic the sun’s energy production through nuclear fusion. To make this happen, scientists heat plasma to temperatures much hotter than the sun.
The reactor responsible for this achievement is called the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, or EAST for short. It generates power by heating plasma trapped in a doughnut-shaped chamber. Essentially, it fuses two light atoms into a heavier one to create energy.
On January 20th, EAST set a new record by maintaining a continuous nuclear reaction for 1,066 seconds. This is a huge improvement over its previous record of 403 seconds, which was also set by EAST in 2023.
This new record is crucial for developing reactors that can sustain long plasma loops, which are necessary for generating electricity. However, achieving self-sustaining reactions has been a challenge for reactors like EAST.
Song Yuntao, the director of the fusion project, emphasized the need for stable operation at high efficiency for extended periods. He also expressed hopes for international collaboration to make fusion energy practical for everyone.
Despite these advancements, scientists are concerned that progress is too slow to address the urgent climate crisis. They believe we could harness green power from nuclear fusion within decades, but it might take longer than expected.
