The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, or EAST, also called China’s “artificial sun,” has held a high-confinement plasma steady for 1,066 seconds.

This new world record is a major step forward for fusion power. The Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) at Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, achieved this. It beats their old record of 403 seconds from 2023.

The point of EAST is to mimic the sun’s nuclear fusion to give us endless, clean energy. This could also help with space exploration. Scientists have been trying to make this work for over 70 years. But it’s tough. They need to get temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius, keep everything stable for a long time, and control the fusion precisely.

A monumental step

“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,” says ASIPP director Song Yuntao in a press release issued by HFIPS. He adds that the recent record is monumental, marking a critical step toward realizing a functional fusion reactor.

The EAST machine has been upgraded. The heating system now works at double the power, and it’s more stable.

EAST has been around since 2006, helping scientists from China and around the world study fusion. China also joined the ITER project that year, agreeing to help build and run it. ITER, in France, will be the biggest fusion experiment when finished.

EAST keeps setting new records in high-confinement mode, which is important for future reactors like ITER and China’s CFETR. These successes help everyone working on fusion energy. Song hopes EAST can increase global teamwork to make fusion energy practical. In Hefei, new facilities are being built to push fusion research even further.

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