“This is an important milestone in the development of the country in the field of nuclear fusion”
China’s State Atomic Energy Corporation says it has passed a major milestone on its path to creating an “artificial sun” based on nuclear fusion.
The China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) said that the latest version of its tokamak, known as the HL-2A, generated a plasma current of more than 1 million amperes, or 1 megaampere.
“This is an important milestone in the development of the country in the field of nuclear fusion … since limited nuclear fusion is one of the three building blocks of the country’s nuclear energy development strategy,” the report says.
China is getting closer to creating an “artificial sun” based on nuclear fusion
Scientists hope that this process, which generates energy in much the same way that the Sun generates heat and light, could provide safe, clean and virtually limitless energy.
Unlike nuclear fission reactions, which produce electricity in modern nuclear power plants, nuclear fusion produces less radioactive waste.
CNNC reports that the device is operating in high-confinement mode (mode H), in which the temperature and density of the plasma increase significantly. The developers said the new reactor overcame “key technical challenges” caused by the use of a larger thermal system and an improved deflector, a device that removes heat, minimizes plasma contamination and protects the wall surrounding the reactor.
According to Chinese media reports, the device was developed at the company’s Southwest Institute of Physics in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.
