Sunday October 01, 2006

China fusion reactor test successful

peakoil.com -> china.org.cn :

Chinese scientists have successfully conducted their first test of an experimental thermonuclear fusion reactor, which replicates the energy generating process of the sun. The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) fusion reactor was tested at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Plasma Physics in Hefei. Deuterium and tritium atoms were forced together at 100 million degrees Celsius. The first tests lasted nearly three seconds. The device is planned to eventually create a plasma lasting 1,000 consecutive seconds, the longest ever fusion reactor run.

The EAST is an upgrade of China's first-generation Tokamak device and the first of its kind in the world, said Chinese scientists. Compared with similar devices in other countries, EAST was the most cost-effective, said Li Jiangang, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics.

Unlike traditional nuclear fission reactors, splitting atoms to create energy and produce dangerous radioactive waste, the EAST uses nuclear fusion to compress atoms at extremely high temperatures to generate energy that would produce very little pollution. Scientists theorize that a fully functional fusion reactor would provide cheaper, safer, cleaner and endless energy and reduce the world's dependence on fossil fuels.

See also :

1. China to build world's first "artificial sun"

(2006-10-01 16:04:55 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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