China turns on nuclear-powered 'artificial sun'

[xizhimen]

China turns on nuclear-powered 'artificial sun'​

04 December 2020,

The HL-2M Tokamak reactor is China's largest and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device and can reach temperatures of over 150 million degrees Celsius STR AFP


Beijing (AFP)

China successfully powered up its "artificial sun" nuclear fusion reactor for the first time, state media reported Friday, marking a great advance in the country's nuclear power research capabilities.

The HL-2M Tokamak reactor is China's largest and most advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device, and scientists hope that the device can potentially unlock a powerful clean energy source.

It uses a powerful magnetic field to fuse hot plasma and can reach temperatures of over 150 million degrees Celsius, according to the People's Daily -- approximately ten times hotter than the core of the sun.

Located in southwestern Sichuan province and completed late last year, the reactor is often called an "artificial sun" on account of the enormous heat and power it produces.

"The development of nuclear fusion energy is not only a way to solve China's strategic energy needs, but also has great significance for the future sustainable development of China's energy and national economy," said the People's Daily.

Chinese scientists have been working on developing smaller versions of the nuclear fusion reactor since 2006.

They plan to use the device in collaboration with scientists working on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor -- the world's largest nuclear fusion research project based in France, which is expected to be completed in 2025.

Fusion is considered the Holy Grail of energy and is what powers our sun.

It merges atomic nuclei to create massive amounts of energy -- the opposite of the fission process used in atomic weapons and nuclear power plants, which splits them into fragments.

Unlike fission, fusion emits no greenhouse gases and carries less risk of accidents or the theft of atomic material.

But achieving fusion is both extremely difficult and prohibitively expensive, with the total cost of ITER estimated at $22.5 billion.

China turns on nuclear-powered 'artificial sun' - France 24

China turns on nuclear-powered 'artificial sun'

www.france24.com

 

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China commissions new-generation 'artificial sun'​

lXinhua, December 5, 2020

The HL-2M Tokamak, China's new-generation "artificial sun," went into operation on Friday and has achieved its first plasma discharge, according to the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

Southwestern Institute of Physics working at the installation site of the HL-2M Tokamak, China's new-generation "artificial sun," in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. The HL-2M Tokamak went into operation on Friday and achieved its first plasma discharge, according to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). Designed to replicate the natural reactions that occur in the sun using hydrogen and deuterium gases as fuels, the apparatus in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, will provide clean energy through controlled nuclear fusion, said CNNC. (CNNC Southwestern Institute of Physics/Handout via Xinhua)
Designed to replicate the natural reactions that occur in the sun using hydrogen and deuterium gases as fuels, the apparatus in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, will provide clean energy through controlled nuclear fusion, said the CNNC.

The self-developed device is the country's largest in scale and highest in parameters, with a more advanced structure and control mode than its predecessor, the HL-2A Tokamak.

It is able to generate plasma hotter than 150 million degrees Celsius and is expected to greatly enhance the research and development of key technologies in plasma physics research in China.

"The energy confinement time of international tokamak devices is less than one second. The shot discharge duration of the HL-2M is around 10 seconds, with an energy confinement time of a few hundred milliseconds," said Yang Qingwei, chief engineer of the HL-2M at the Southwestern Institute of Physics under the CNNC.

The artificial sun will provide key technical support for China's participation in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project and frontier research fields including flow instability and magnetic phenomena of ultra-high temperature plasma, according to Yang.

China commissions new-generation 'artificial sun' - China.org.cn

www.china.org.cn

 

[xizhimen]

The HL-2M Tokamak achieves its first plasma discharge​

The HL-2M Tokamak is an experimental nuclear fusion reactor. According to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), the HL-2M Tokamak achieved its first plasma discharge