China’s thermonuclear reactor (artificial sun) has set a new record by heating plasma to five times the sun’s temperature and storing it for more than 17 minutes.

According to the Chinese “Xinhua” agency, this achievement is another important step towards creating a clean and almost unlimited source of energy.

EAST, a Chinese thermonuclear reactor, was commissioned in 2006 to heat the plasma to 100 million degrees Celsius in 2018 and maintain it for only 10 seconds. In 2021, he was able to heat the plasma to 120 million degrees Celsius and hold it for 101 seconds, after which the plasma temperature reached 160 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.

In recent years, similar results have been achieved in many thermonuclear reactors, but the results achieved by Chinese physicists are particularly significant in view of the unusually high temperatures in the East.
This may be explained by the fact that the thermonuclear reactions at the center of the Sun are supported, among other things, by the Sun’s strong gravitational pull and its large size. To get the desired result in the condition of the earth, we need an incredible temperature. In addition, it needs to be preserved for a sufficient period of time to receive the required responses.

Although the cost of this Chinese project will exceed one trillion dollars in June 2022, it will not become a source of “free” energy in the future, but will only be used to test technologies for a large thermonuclear project – with the contribution of a number of international thermonuclear experimental reactors (including IT in the country). The reactor is expected to be operational by 2025.

Source: Vesti. Row

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