London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

China’s 'Artificial Sun’ Runs Five Times Hotter Than ‘Original’ in Quest For Clean Fusion Energy

China’s 'Artificial Sun’ Runs Five Times Hotter Than ‘Original’ in Quest For Clean Fusion Energy

Last year, China’s nuclear fusion reactor set a new world record for superheated plasma time in a “breakthrough” hailed as yet another step towards achieving clean, sustainable electricity generation.

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), China’s nuclear fusion device known as an “artificial sun”, has set a new record for sustained high temperatures, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The simulation in Hefei ran for 1,056 seconds (17 minutes, 36 seconds) at 70 million degrees – five times hotter than the actual sun, which hits about 15 million degrees in its core.

EAST, designed and developed by Chinese scientists, has been used since 2006 to conduct fusion-related experiments mimicking the atom-building process that occurs at the center of stars and gives them their luminosity and warmth. It does so by applying powerful magnetic fields to hydrogen to compress it until it creates a plasma that can reach temperatures of over 150 million degrees Celsius and generate enormous energy.

Scientists hope to harness the power of nuclear fusion to deliver near-limitless clean energy. Unlike the nuclear fission process that powers commercial nuclear energy production, nuclear fusion requires no fossil fuels and does not leave behind hazardous radioactive waste materials.

“The recent operation lays a solid scientific and experimental foundation towards the running of a fusion reactor,” Gong Xianzu, a researcher at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences who led the latest experiment, was cited as saying.


EAST will continue to run the experiment at the Hefei Institute of Physical Science in the eastern province of Anhui until June.

Institute of Plasma Physics director Song Yuntao was cited as saying:

“[The experiment] once again challenged the world record. We have comprehensively validated the technology, driving it a major step forward from basic research to engineering applications.”


He added that five years from now, the scientists hoped to start building their fusion reactor, which may take approximately ten years.

“After that is built we will construct the power generator and start generating power by around 2040,” he added.

The “artificial sun” had achieved another milestone in May 2021, running at a plasma (hot gas) temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds.

Then for another 20 seconds it reached a peak temperature of 160 million degrees Celsius –over 10 times hotter than the Sun, according to the outlet.

Despite the breakthroughs achieves by EAST, one of three major tokamaks in operation in China, nuclear fusion remains decades away from being used outside of a lab. The principal challenges are maintaining the temperature over 100 million degrees and operating at a stable level for a long time, according to Xinhua.

FILE PHOTO: General view of the circular bioshield inside the construction site of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, southern France, November 7, 2019.


Similar efforts are currently underway in other countries. China, alongside another 35 countries, is participating in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) megaproject in Marseille, France. ITER is touted as potentially being the world’s largest reactor once completed.

Comments

mike 4 year ago
Once again China is miles ahead of the rest of the world.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
×