'Artificial sun' reaches groundbreaking milestone on way to creating limitless energy source

The scientists behind the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) managed to keep the fusion drive blazing for more than 1,000 seconds for the first time, 1,066 seconds to be exact, which is almost 18 minutes.

EAST is a type of experimental fusion reactor developed by China which utilises superconducting magnets that contain plasma at very high temperatures with the aim of replicating the sun’s nuclear fusion process. It is hoped that EAST could potentially lead to the development of a clean and almost limitless energy source.

However, it is still an experimental device. China has reported significant progress with EAST and its record-breaking durations. Construction of EAST was completed in 2006 and it is one of several nuclear fusion reactors being worked on to find a source of energy that works in a similar way to our sun.

Reactors like this use plasma and magnetic fields to create the conditions for hydrogen atoms to smash together at high speeds and under intense pressure, this leads to the release of massive amounts of energy.

The previous record for keeping hot plasma stable for an extended period of time was 403 seconds in 2023. Generating electricity from nuclear fusion devices presents its own set of challenges, such as reaching temperatures beyond 100 million degrees Celsius and maintaining stable, long-term operation to ensure control of the fusion process.

EAST maintained a steady-state high-confinement plasma operation for 1,066 secondsHefei Institutes of Physical Science

The new 1,066-second milestone was achieved by the Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) at Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Song Yuntao, ASIPP director and vice president of HFIPS, said the recent milestone is monumental.

"A fusion device must achieve stable operation at high efficiency for thousands of seconds to enable the self-sustaining circulation of plasma, which is essential for the continuous power generation of future fusion plants," he explained.

China has not shared a lot of detail about the conditions for this recent achievement but researchers said innovations helped their heating system double in power, Science Alert reports.

A nuclear fusion experiment last year set a record after reaching a temperature more than seven times hotter than the sun’s core.

Experts in South Korea, from the KSTAR Research Center at the Korean Institute of Fusion Energy, announced the new world record for the amount of time they were able to sustain a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius.

It occurred during a nuclear fusion experiment and was heralded as a big step forward for new energy technologies.

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