Published: 14th Jun, 2021
China's 'artificial sun' EAST achieved a peak temperature of 288 million degrees Fahrenheit, which is over ten times hotter than the sun, for 20 second.
Context
China's 'artificial sun' EAST achieved a peak temperature of 288 million degrees Fahrenheit, which is over ten times hotter than the sun, for 20 second.
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About the new record
- China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST)mimics the energy generation process of the sun.
- It set a new record after it ran at 216 million degrees Fahrenheit (120 million degrees Celsius) for 101 seconds, according to state media. For another 20 seconds, the “artificial sun” also achieved a peak temperature of 288 million degrees Fahrenheit (160 million degrees Celsius), which is over ten times hotter than the sun.
- Significance:It is a significant step in the country’s quest to unlock clean and limitless energy, with minimal waste products.
China’s ‘artificial sun’ EAST
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How the ‘artificial sun’ EAST works?
- The EAST Tokamak device is designed to replicate the nuclear fusion process carried out by the sun and stars.
- Nuclear fusion is a process through which high levels of energy are produced without generating large quantities of waste.
- For nuclear fusion to occur, tremendous heat and pressure are applied on hydrogen atoms so that they fuse together.
- The nuclei of deuterium and tritium — both found in hydrogen — are made to fuse together to create a helium nucleus, a neutron along with a whole lot of energy.
- Fuel is heated to temperatures of over 150 million degrees C so that it forms a hot plasma “soup” of subatomic particles. With the help of a strong magnetic field, the plasma is kept away from the walls of the reactor to ensure it does not cool down and lose its potential to generate large amounts of energy.
- The plasma is confined for long durations for fusion to take place.
Next move
- The next goal for the scientists behind the experimental reactor is to maintain the high temperature for a long period of time.
- Previously, the EAST had reached a record temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius in 2018.
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