</s>China has built an 'artificial sun' that reaches temperature six times that of the core of our star.

The state-of-the-art reactor is designed to replicate the processes of the sun as part of a project to turn hydrogen into cost-effective green energy.

It reached a key milestone this week when it hit 180 million F (100 million C) for the first time, which is believed to be the temperature at which nuclear fusion occurs.

Scientists across the globe are locked in a race to build the world's first operational nuclear fusion reactor.

The victor will unlock a source of near-limitless clean energy worth billions that some believe could save the planet from the climate change crisis.

Scientists at the China's Hefei Institutes of Physical Science announced their fusion machine reached hit 100 million C (180 million F) on Tuesday.

This is more than six times hotter than the core of the sun, which peaks at around 15 million C (27 million F).

Scientists believe that nuclear fusion occurs at 100 million C - causing charged deuterium and tritium particles join together in a huge burst of energy.

These particles normally repel each other, and enormous temperatures are required to overcome their opposing forces.

The goal of the team's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) is to better understand the process of fusion ahead of building a full reactor.

Nuclear fusion reactors work differently to fission reactors because they fuse two nuclei, rather than splitting them.

The process promises a vast resource of cheap energy and is far safer than fission, producing almost no dangerous nuclear waste.

A practical fusion reactor must not only be capable of sustaining extreme temperatures, but also remain stable at these temperatures for long periods.

EAST currently holds the world record for sustaining a reaction in a Tokamak - a poultry 101.2 seconds back in 2017.

The Tokamak is the world's most developed magnetic confinement system and is the basis for the design of many modern fusion reactors.

It involves light elements, such as hydrogen, smashing together to form heavier elements, such as helium.

For fusion to occur, hydrogen atoms are placed under high heat and pressure until they fuse together.</s>Chinese researchers reached a new milestone with their ‘artificial sun’ that was designed to replicate the process our natural sun uses to generate energy.

In a push to find a major clean energy source, researchers in China have created an artificial sun that can reach temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius, a heat so intense it makes the real sun seem lukewarm by comparison.

As China’s sun is an experiment for nuclear fusion, it won’t be launched up into the skies like their fake moon

RT reports: The earth-based solar simulator has reached mind-bending temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius, the research team announced Tuesday. Now, that’s hot. For comparison, the real sun’s core is about 15 million degrees Celsius.

The Institute of Plasma Physics, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said it has been testing an “artificial sun,” known as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). The sci-fi-sounding contraption has been designed to replicate the way in which the star at the center of our solar system generates its colossal energy.

EAST is a large, donut-shaped machine set inside a round box. Located on Science Island in Eastern China’s Anhui Province, the project is using nuclear fusion to create immense heat; it costs a massive $15,000 a day just to turn on the machine.

The goal of the EAST is to understand nuclear fusion and to one day use it as an alternative source of power on Earth. This could pave the way for using clean energy – currently, nuclear energy created through fission leaves a long-lasting toxic waste.

The news comes soon after China announced its plans to roll out a series of fake moons to illuminate urban streets at night. The ‘moons’ are actually satellites, and the hope is that they can replace standard street lighting and save energy.</s>- China has achieved a true milestone by attaining a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius. This is an unparalleled temperature, and over seven times the estimated temperature of the sun’s core. This is a game breaker, not just a game changer. Beijing - China has achieved a true milestone by attaining a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius. This is an unparalleled temperature, and over seven times the estimated temperature of the sun’s core. This is a game breaker, not just a game changer. Big issues The super-efficient fusion reactor has been a sort of Holy Grail for physicists and engineers for many decades. China’s reactor, in fact, has gone well beyond the parameters for energy production. It’s not necessary to deliver 100 million degrees to provide the sort of power required for electricity generation. 1 million degrees would be quite adequate, and infinitely more efficient than the clunky, extremely toxic 19th century fossil fuel power currently in use. The extremely high level of efficiency required to achieve 100 million degrees, however, takes China’s fusion program to a new, and fascinating, level. This sort of power can be harnessed to produce space vehicle drives, weapons, and less appealingly, potentially catastrophic meltdowns. (Also note that the 100 million degree figure would have to be reached with very small amounts of material, for the sake of both safety and viability of practical research. You don’t just suddenly generate fusion in tons of material. Research of this kind would have to be done in micrograms, easily manageable amounts. Even so, it’s still far more efficient than any previous experimentation.) The mere fact that China was able to safely achieve this very high temperature, on the other hand, points to excellent technology, good safety management, and more to come. Fusion power is an ongoing subject of research around the world. The United States has no less than Future issues If the balance of fusion technology seems to be tilted towards China, you can expect the rest of the world to challenge this situation. Fusion power has almost unspeakable commercial potential, and can deliver another Holy Grail, cheap power, in vast amounts. In the current political environment, that sort of competition may get ugly. Accusations of scientific espionage, real or imaginary, are common. The sheer value of fusion power could cause some rather grim situations, including an “Intellectual Property War” for key technologies. That’s not at all unlikely, and could cause global IP piracy to escalate from its already horrific levels. Militarily, fusion power isn’t an instant option for anyone. Fusion warheads could be destructive, sure, but they could also be own goals. They’d be expensive to make, very hard to hide, and difficult to manage as active warheads. (For example, can you trigger fusion-able materials the same way you can trigger fissionable materials? Probably not, with existing technologies.) A fusion weapons system could also cause a very negative response from other nuclear powers who don’t want to be at a disadvantage against these potentially very high yield, much more powerful, weapons. Technological advantages, however, can play out economically in very different ways. China could become an energy exporter using fusion power. That would be a gigantic cash cow, and also integrate Chinese power supplies with the rest of the world. Goodbye oil, coal, etc., and hello Gung Ho Fat Choy PLC, your friendly global power company. Fossil fuel economies couldn’t compete, on any level, even in theory, with the possible efficiencies of fusion power systems. Fossil fuels require vast infrastructures, massive amounts of raw materials, and an entire global distribution system. Fusion doesn’t require anything but the means to generate fusion reactions. It can ship its power anywhere. If that sounds like a real power struggle, (excuse the expression) with fusion as the only working competitive option, you see the problems. Whole fossil fuel dependent national economies would crash, and the rest of the world would have to reconfigure to fusion. Strong positives for fusion On a much more positive note, fusion power could also deliver the clean energy required to end the global pollution disaster which is killing people worldwide. Fusion can use steam, and/or any kind of secondary pressure or magnetic systems, to drive any type of power system. These types of power systems don’t and can’t generate microparticulate matter, which is the truly toxic part of fossil fuel pollution, or chemical toxins. This clean power would also be able to power electric vehicles, eliminating the endless toxic horrors of vasoconstrictive exhaust fumes which are contributing to any number medical issues, like hypertension and coronary disease, two of the world’s biggest, and most expensive, mass pandemic conditions. Even asthma, another galloping global medical environmental issue, could benefit. (Someone will have to explain to me at some point why epidemiologists never seem to refer to the 16 billion tons of pollutants released in to the air every year as an environmental factor in any type of disease, beyond vague causal associations. Lazy, or too damn gutless to mention the obvious?) Anyway, fusion is now over the horizon in terms of a realistic future technology. It’s been coming for a long time, but this is the first real ray of sunlight in a new day for energy production. Let’s just hope our fearless “leaders” don’t turn it in to another nightmare for humanity. The big breakthrough was achieved by China's Institute of Plasma Physics Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) facility. This level of power is capable of generating enormous amounts of energy for use in power systems. It may also be an emerging answer to China’s hideously difficult fossil fuel pollution problems.The super-efficient fusion reactor has been a sort of Holy Grail for physicists and engineers for many decades. China’s reactor, in fact, has gone well beyond the parameters for energy production. It’s not necessary to deliver 100 million degrees to provide the sort of power required for electricity generation. 1 million degrees would be quite adequate, and infinitely more efficient than the clunky, extremely toxic 19th century fossil fuel power currently in use.The extremely high level of efficiency required to achieve 100 million degrees, however, takes China’s fusion program to a new, and fascinating, level. This sort of power can be harnessed to produce space vehicle drives, weapons, and less appealingly, potentially catastrophic meltdowns.(Also note that the 100 million degree figure would have to be reached with very small amounts of material, for the sake of both safety and viability of practical research. You don’t just suddenly generate fusion in tons of material. Research of this kind would have to be done in micrograms, easily manageable amounts. Even so, it’s still far more efficient than any previous experimentation.)The mere fact that China was able to safely achieve this very high temperature, on the other hand, points to excellent technology, good safety management, and more to come.Fusion power is an ongoing subject of research around the world. The United States has no less than 20 research programs under way. The EU has multiple research organisations involved in its research programs.If the balance of fusion technology seems to be tilted towards China, you can expect the rest of the world to challenge this situation. Fusion power has almost unspeakable commercial potential, and can deliver another Holy Grail, cheap power, in vast amounts.In the current political environment, that sort of competition may get ugly. Accusations of scientific espionage, real or imaginary, are common. The sheer value of fusion power could cause some rather grim situations, including an “Intellectual Property War” for key technologies. That’s not at all unlikely, and could cause global IP piracy to escalate from its already horrific levels.Militarily, fusion power isn’t an instant option for anyone. Fusion warheads could be destructive, sure, but they could also be own goals. They’d be expensive to make, very hard to hide, and difficult to manage as active warheads. (For example, can you trigger fusion-able materials the same way you can trigger fissionable materials? Probably not, with existing technologies.) A fusion weapons system could also cause a very negative response from other nuclear powers who don’t want to be at a disadvantage against these potentially very high yield, much more powerful, weapons.Technological advantages, however, can play out economically in very different ways. China could become an energy exporter using fusion power. That would be a gigantic cash cow, and also integrate Chinese power supplies with the rest of the world. Goodbye oil, coal, etc., and hello Gung Ho Fat Choy PLC, your friendly global power company. Fossil fuel economies couldn’t compete, on any level, even in theory, with the possible efficiencies of fusion power systems. Fossil fuels require vast infrastructures, massive amounts of raw materials, and an entire global distribution system. Fusion doesn’t require anything but the means to generate fusion reactions. It can ship its power anywhere.If that sounds like a real power struggle, (excuse the expression) with fusion as the only working competitive option, you see the problems. Whole fossil fuel dependent national economies would crash, and the rest of the world would have to reconfigure to fusion.On a much more positive note, fusion power could also deliver the clean energy required to end the global pollution disaster which is killing people worldwide. Fusion can use steam, and/or any kind of secondary pressure or magnetic systems, to drive any type of power system. These types of power systems don’t and can’t generate microparticulate matter, which is the truly toxic part of fossil fuel pollution, or chemical toxins.This clean power would also be able to power electric vehicles, eliminating the endless toxic horrors of vasoconstrictive exhaust fumes which are contributing to any number medical issues, like hypertension and coronary disease, two of the world’s biggest, and most expensive, mass pandemic conditions. Even asthma, another galloping global medical environmental issue, could benefit.(Someone will have to explain to me at some point why epidemiologists never seem to refer to the 16 billion tons of pollutants released in to the air every year as an environmental factor in any type of disease, beyond vague causal associations. Lazy, or too damn gutless to mention the obvious?)Anyway, fusion is now over the horizon in terms of a realistic future technology. It’s been coming for a long time, but this is the first real ray of sunlight in a new day for energy production. Let’s just hope our fearless “leaders” don’t turn it in to another nightmare for humanity. This opinion article was written by an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily intended to reflect those of DigitalJournal.com</s>Chinese researchers pushing to find a major clean energy source have created an incredible artificial sun that can reach temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius – a heat so intense it makes the real sun seem merely lukewarm.

The earth-based solar simulator has reached mind-bending temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius, the research team announced Tuesday. Now, that’s hot. For comparison, the real sun’s core is about 15 million degrees Celsius.

The Institute of Plasma Physics, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said it has been testing an “artificial sun,” known as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). The sci-fi-sounding contraption has been designed to replicate the way in which the star at the center of our solar system generates its colossal energy.

EAST is a large, donut-shaped machine set inside a round box. Located on Science Island in Eastern China's Anhui Province, the project is using nuclear fusion to create immense heat; it costs a massive $15,000 a day just to turn on the machine.

The goal of the EAST is to understand nuclear fusion and to one day use it as an alternative source of power on Earth. This could pave the way for using clean energy – currently, nuclear energy created through fission leaves a long-lasting toxic waste.

The news comes soon after China announced its plans to roll out a series of fake moons to illuminate urban streets at night. The ‘moons’ are actually satellites, and the hope is that they can replace standard street lighting and save energy.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!</s>China is all about the artificial celestial bodies at the moment. Just weeks after we learnt the country was making a fake moon we're learning that its earth-based sun simulator is producing temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius.

The core of the actual Sun reaches around 15 million degrees Celsius so this artificial sun is considerably hotter. But scientists believe that this is around the minimum temperature needed to create conditions suitable for nuclear fusion.

At 100 million degrees celsius it's possible to force charged deuterium and tritium particles together to get them to fuse. Usually these particles repel each other, making fusion impossible without massive internal temperatures.

Deuterium and tritium are isotopes of hydrogen and there's a plentiful supply available to use. One company Tokamak Energy claims that it's possible to create fusion reactors for power generation by 2030.

The goal of the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) is to understand nuclear fusion and one day use it as an alternative source of power on Earth.

Nuclear fusion could create enormous amounts of power without the risk of a meltdown and with very little dangerous waste creation. Fusion relies on combining two nuclei instead of splitting an atom in the way nuclear fission reactors do.

The difficulties of sustaining a reaction on Earth are considerable. EAST needs to be able to survive the massive temperatures and it needs to do so for extended periods of time to be practical for energy generation.

EAST currently has the world record for sustaining a reaction in the Tokamak. Scientists achieved what's called a steady-state H-mode for 101.2 seconds back in 2017.</s>Chinese researchers pushing to find a major clean energy source have created an incredible artificial sun that can reach temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius - a heat so intense it makes the real sun seem merely lukewarm.The Institute of Plasma Physics, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said it has been testing an "artificial sun," known as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). The sci-fi-sounding contraption has been designed to replicate the way in which the star at the center of our solar system generates its colossal energy.EAST is a large, donut-shaped machine set inside a round box. Located on Science Island in Eastern China's Anhui Province, the project is using nuclear fusion to create immense heat; it costs a massive $15,000 a day just to turn on the machine.The news comes soon after China announced its plans to roll out a series of fake moons to illuminate urban streets at night. The 'moons' are actually satellites, and the hope is that they can replace standard street lighting and save energy.
China's Hefei Institutes of Physical Science announces that its Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor in Hefei has reached a milestone of 100 million degrees celsius.