China turns on first nuclear-powered ‘artificial sun’

(AFP): China has successfully powered up its first nuclear-powered ‘artificial sun’, marking a great advance in the country’s nuclear power research capabilities.

Designed to replicate the natural reactions that occur in the sun using hydrogen and deuterium gases as fuels, the apparatus will provide clean energy through controlled nuclear fusion, according to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).  

The HL-2M Tokamak reactor is China’s largest and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device, and scientists hope that the device can potentially unlock a powerful clean energy source.

It uses a powerful magnetic field to fuse hot plasma and can reach temperatures of over 150 million degrees Celsius, approximately ten times hotter than the core of the sun. The reactor is often called an ‘artificial sun’ on account of the enormous heat and power it produces.

Yang Qingwei, chief engineer of the HL-2M, said, “The energy confinement time of international tokamak devices is less than one second. The shot discharge duration of the HL-2M is around 10 seconds, with an energy confinement time of a few hundred milliseconds.”

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.