China's artificial sun reaches 100 million degrees: 'Clean and free energy for humanity'
The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), known as China's 'artificial sun,' set a new world record on Tuesday by operating for 1,066 seconds.
12punto
12punto FOREIGN NEWS
According to information provided by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the engineering design for the new generation 'artificial sun' has been completed. The artificial sun reached a temperature of approximately 100 million degrees. According to China's 'magnetic confinement nuclear fusion' roadmap, the country aims to build the world's first 'demonstration fusion power plant.'
The 1,066-second duration is considered a significant step in fusion research. The experiment, conducted by the Institute of Plasma Physics under the CAS, surpassed the previous world record of 403 seconds reported by EAST in 2023.
According to a report by the Global Times, the CAS stated that the ultimate goal of developing an artificial sun is to mimic the nuclear fusion processes that occur in the sun, provide humanity with unlimited clean energy, and enable deep space exploration. According to the report, it was determined that the artificial sun reached temperatures around 100 million degrees for 1,066 seconds.
Speaking to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, the director of the Institute of Plasma Physics, Song Yuntao, noted the following:
'For fusion reactions to be self-sustaining, they need to last for thousands of seconds. This record marks the first time humanity has simulated the conditions necessary to operate fusion reactors in an experimental environment.'