Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

China’s 'Artificial Sun’ Runs Five Times Hotter Than ‘Original’ in Quest For Clean Fusion Energy

China’s 'Artificial Sun’ Runs Five Times Hotter Than ‘Original’ in Quest For Clean Fusion Energy

Last year, China’s nuclear fusion reactor set a new world record for superheated plasma time in a “breakthrough” hailed as yet another step towards achieving clean, sustainable electricity generation.

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), China’s nuclear fusion device known as an “artificial sun”, has set a new record for sustained high temperatures, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The simulation in Hefei ran for 1,056 seconds (17 minutes, 36 seconds) at 70 million degrees – five times hotter than the actual sun, which hits about 15 million degrees in its core.

EAST, designed and developed by Chinese scientists, has been used since 2006 to conduct fusion-related experiments mimicking the atom-building process that occurs at the center of stars and gives them their luminosity and warmth. It does so by applying powerful magnetic fields to hydrogen to compress it until it creates a plasma that can reach temperatures of over 150 million degrees Celsius and generate enormous energy.

Scientists hope to harness the power of nuclear fusion to deliver near-limitless clean energy. Unlike the nuclear fission process that powers commercial nuclear energy production, nuclear fusion requires no fossil fuels and does not leave behind hazardous radioactive waste materials.

“The recent operation lays a solid scientific and experimental foundation towards the running of a fusion reactor,” Gong Xianzu, a researcher at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences who led the latest experiment, was cited as saying.


EAST will continue to run the experiment at the Hefei Institute of Physical Science in the eastern province of Anhui until June.

Institute of Plasma Physics director Song Yuntao was cited as saying:

“[The experiment] once again challenged the world record. We have comprehensively validated the technology, driving it a major step forward from basic research to engineering applications.”


He added that five years from now, the scientists hoped to start building their fusion reactor, which may take approximately ten years.

“After that is built we will construct the power generator and start generating power by around 2040,” he added.

The “artificial sun” had achieved another milestone in May 2021, running at a plasma (hot gas) temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds.

Then for another 20 seconds it reached a peak temperature of 160 million degrees Celsius –over 10 times hotter than the Sun, according to the outlet.

Despite the breakthroughs achieves by EAST, one of three major tokamaks in operation in China, nuclear fusion remains decades away from being used outside of a lab. The principal challenges are maintaining the temperature over 100 million degrees and operating at a stable level for a long time, according to Xinhua.

FILE PHOTO: General view of the circular bioshield inside the construction site of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, southern France, November 7, 2019.


Similar efforts are currently underway in other countries. China, alongside another 35 countries, is participating in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) megaproject in Marseille, France. ITER is touted as potentially being the world’s largest reactor once completed.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
Texas Enacts Law Allowing Gold and Silver Transactions
×