China has been ruling over the department of technology and Science since years. One of the recent inventions in technology is the fake sun which has broke the world record. If this invention becomes successful, world can overcome with the energy crisis as this fake sun can fulfill the energy requirements of whole world.
This fake sun is the result of nuclear fusion and China officially started developing it in 2006. China’s artificial sun, known as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), burned for over 1000 seconds, creating a new record for the scientist working on the project.The artificial sun maintained a steady-state high-confinement plasma operation for 1066 seconds, setting a new world record and reaching a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius.
The Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) scientists achieved the said record, a new benchmark in the fusion research sector. The same project held the previous record of 403 seconds. Since starting operation in 2006, EAST has been an open test platform for Chinese and international scientists to conduct fusion-related experiments and research.
EAST has continuously achieved and surpassed the milestones it has set out in the high confinement mode, which serves as the fundamental mode for experimental fusion reactors. The reactor had previously reached 100 million degrees Celsius back in 2018. The Chinese reactor is a leader in its field but it isn't the only one in the race. Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (STAR) fusion device from Korea reached a plasma temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds in December 2020.
How does the fusion reaction work in an artificial sun?
In a fusion reaction, two light nuclei merge to form a single heavier nucleus. The process releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei. The leftover mass becomes energy.
In a bid to push for clean energy and reach such high temperatures, hydrogen isotopes are placed inside a fusion device to create a plasma state where ions and electrons are separated. During the process, ions are heated and maintained at high temperatures. The experimental reactor's main goal is to create nuclear fusion like the Sun, using deuterium from the sea to provide a steady stream of clean energy. "A fusion device must achieve stable operation at high efficiency for thousands of seconds to enable the self-sustaining circulation of plasma, which is critical for the continuous power generation of future fusion plants," the Xinhua news agency quoted ASIPP director Song Yuntao as saying.
According to Yuntao, the fresh record by China's artificial sun holds monumental significance as it is a crucial step toward the development of a fusion reactor.
The drawback of the sun could be the harmful radiations which may be emitted, increasing the risk of global warming and other diseases. If this sun is kept in the protective case or assembly, there are chances that we can be prevented from these detrimental radiations. It is said that a the energy of the fake sun will increase by time.