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China's extremely powerful 'Artificial Sun' is switched on; Details inside

The reactor holds the record for maintaining temperatures five times hotter than our sun for more than 17 minutes (or at least according to Chinese state media).

China extremely powerful artificial Sun is switched on Details inside gcw
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China, First Published Jan 5, 2022, 12:01 PM IST

China's pioneering nuclear fusion reactor called an "artificial sun," has been turned on. The reactor holds the record for maintaining temperatures five times hotter than our sun for more than 17 minutes (or at least according to Chinese state media). According to China's Xinhua news agency, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reached 70,000,000 degrees Celsius during trials.

If the assertion is true, it can change the way China generates and absorbs renewable energy. To begin, the idea is to provide an infinite source of clean energy by mimicking analogous processes that occur in stars such as our sun. The project has cost China $943 billion, and the trial is set to last until June 2022.

Nuclear fusion, according to scientists, might help humanity maximise renewable energy output. However, such technology is incredibly difficult to build; even after decades of research, nuclear fusion reactors can only generate energy in lab conditions. Unlike the nuclear fission process that powers commercial nuclear energy production, this technology uses no fossil fuels and produces no hazardous waste. Environmental disasters, according to physicists, are significantly less likely.

Nuclear fusion reactors fuse atomic nuclei to generate large quantities of energy, which may subsequently be converted into electricity by mimicking the physics of big stars like our sun. Essentially, this is the end of all of our energy troubles. The nuclear fusion is cleaner and more ecologically friendly than present technologies since it eliminates the need for fossil fuels and harmful waste.

Also Read | Sun emitting dangerous flares; strong geomagnetic storm could hit Earth soon

According to the Independent, China's nuclear fusion team will also provide technical assistance to a group working on a similar project in France called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Once finished, the ITER would be the world's most giant reactor.

Likewise, the United Kingdom is proposing to construct a nuclear fusion power station as part of its "green industrial revolution," with a shortlist of five potential sites released last month.
 

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