From LiveScience, January 21:
A nuclear fusion reactor in China, dubbed the "artificial sun," has broken its own record to bring humanity one step closer to near-limitless clean energy.
China's "artificial sun" reactor has broken its own world record for maintaining super-hot plasma, marking another milestone in the long road towards near-limitless clean energy.
The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) nuclear fusion reactor maintained a steady, highly confined loop of plasma — the high-energy fourth state of matter — for 1,066 seconds on Monday (Jan. 20), which more than doubled its previous best of 403 seconds, Chinese state media reported.
Nuclear fusion reactors are nicknamed "artificial suns" because they generate energy in a similar way to the sun — by fusing two light atoms into a single heavy atom via heat and pressure. The sun has a lot more pressure than Earth's reactors, so scientists compensate by using temperatures that are many times hotter than the sun....
....MUCH MORE
Previously:
- February 2016 - "That's cute, Germany – China shows the world how fusion is done"
- December 2019 - And Speaking of Fusion, China Is Close To Turning On Their "Artificial Sun"
- May 2021 - "China’s “Artificial Sun” Fusion Reactor Just Set a World Record"
Possibly also of interest:
May 2023 - Electrical Generation: China’s Jiangxi Province To Build A Fusion-Fission Reactor
For now, I'll believe it when I see it. But the scientists seem to have convinced the people with the money it is doable.
December 2023 - Meanwhile in France: Recreating The Sun In Provence
