Video: Fusion records keep falling — Plasma reaction sustained for 17 minutes
S. Himmelstein | January 14, 2022The 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 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.
What's the ultimate goal for these experiments?
In reply to #1
To produce large amounts of electricity from controlled, sustained, hydrogen to helium fusion. Potentially safer than fission of radioactive fuels. The downside being the magnetic containment fails and a mass of fusing plasma hotter than the sun is dropped inside a power plant. Still, that "doomsday" scenario is likely much better than either a Three Mile Island or a Chernobyl type failure.
In reply to #2
Is that like the "China Syndrome"?
In reply to #3
You should probably Google all three, Cherenoble, Three Mile Island, and China Syndrome. There's much more to all of them than can (or should) be posted here.
But I can't resist saying that two are historical events, one is a movie.