China Successfully Tests Its 'Artificial Sun'
Chinese scientists set new record with nuclear powered superconductor
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Chinese Communist Party (CCP) scientists have successfully tested China's nuclear-powered "artificial sun," according to state media reports.
CCP-run news outlets are reporting that the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) set a new world record and achieved a peak temperature more than ten times hotter than the sun during testing.
The "artificial sun" nuclear fusion reactor reportedly ran at 216million degrees Fahrenheit (120million°C) for 100 seconds.
It also achieved a peak temperature of more than ten times hotter than the sun by running at 288million°F (160million°C).
Chinese scientists hope that EAST will unlock a powerful green energy source in the Communist Party's quest for "limitless clean power."
The controversial cutting-edge device was first fired up last December.
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During its first run, it broke its previous record of maintaining a plasma temperature of 180million°F (100million°C) for 100 seconds, according to The Daily Mail.
Its next goal could be to run at a consistent temperature for a week, according to Li Miao, director of the physics department of the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen.
"The breakthrough is significant progress, and the ultimate goal should be keeping the temperature at a stable level for a long time," he told China's state-run newspaper the Global Times.
The machine, China's largest and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device, uses a powerful magnetic field to fuse hot plasma.
It is designed to replicate the nuclear fusion process that occurs naturally in the sun and stars to provide almost infinite clean energy.
Located in China's eastern Anhui province and completed late last year, the reactor is often called an "artificial sun" on account of the enormous heat and power it produces.
It is based at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"The development of nuclear fusion energy is not only a way to solve China's strategic energy needs, but also has great significance for the future sustainable development of China's energy and national economy," said the People's Daily, a propaganda mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party.
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Chinese scientists have been working on developing smaller versions of the nuclear fusion reactor since 2006.
They plan to use the device in collaboration with scientists working on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) - the world's largest nuclear fusion research project based in France, which is expected to be completed in 2025.
It is the largest global scientific cooperation effort since the creation of the International Space Station more than 20 years ago.
South Korea also has its own "artificial sun," the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR), which has run at 180million°F (100million°C) for 20 seconds.
