The Chinese Academy of Sciences reports that the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) operated by the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently maintained operation at 70 million° C (126 million° F) for 1,056 seconds, or 17 minutes.

This is the longest duration achieved for a high-temperature plasma, and surpasses the previous plasma temperature record of 160 million° C for 20 seconds documented for this tokamak. The recent experiment demonstrated the capability of EAST to endure extreme temperatures over longer periods and sustained a temperature 2.6 times hotter than the sun.

The donut-shaped chamber of EAST. Source: Chinese Academy of SciencesThe donut-shaped chamber of EAST. Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences

EAST is the first fully superconducting tokamak with non-circular cross section and the first to incorporate superconducting toroidal and poloidal magnets. In operation since 2006, EAST offers a fully open test facility for world fusion community to conduct steady-state operation and International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor-related physics research.

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