Chinese scientists have made a significant breakthrough in the research of thermonuclear fusion. They have successfully conducted their first test of an experimental thermonuclear reactor, which replicates the energy generating process of the sun.The first test lasted nearly 3 seconds, and generated an electrical current of 200 kilo amperes. The device is planned to eventually create a plasma lasting 1,000 consecutive seconds, the longest a fusion reactor has ever run. Wan Yuanxi, general manager of Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) said that the deuterium extracted from one liter of seawater could produce energy equivalent to that generated by burning 300 liters of gasoline.
The EAST is an upgrade of China's first-generation Tokamak device and the first of its kind in operation in the world, said Chinese scientists. The Institute of Plasma Physics spent eight years and 25 million USD on building the experimental reactor. The columniform device, made with special stainless steel, is about 5 meters in diameter, 12 meters high and weighs 400 tons. Compared with similar devices in other countries, EAST cost the least money and time to be built and is the first in operation, said Li Jiangang, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics.
The EAST would be the most advanced thermonuclear fusion reactor in the world for the next ten years, said Dr. Gary Jackson from General Atomics of the United States, who participated in the research.
Link & Image: Lian He Zao Bao
Tags: Fusion Reactor | Fusion | Reactor | Nuclear | EAST | Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak
Comments