Chinese scientists begun a new round of tests on the reliability
of the experimental thermonuclear fusion reactor, nicknamed "the
artificial sun".
The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) fusion
reactor, which replicates the energy generating process of the sun,
was tested at the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese
Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province.
The reactor was first tested in September 2006. Since then
scientists have made adjustments to improve results.
"The new tests show the reactor is very reliable, and we can
repeat the experiments," said Wu Songtao, deputy director of the
institute.
This new round of tests will continue till Feb. 10.
During the experiment, deuterium and tritium atoms were forced
together at a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius. At that
temperature, the super heated plasma, which is neither a gas, a
liquid nor a solid, should begin to give off its own energy,
scientists explained.
The device is planned to eventually create a plasma lasting
1,000 consecutive seconds, the longest a fusion reactor has ever
run.
During the first round of experiments, the reactor created a
plasma lasting nearly five seconds and generating an electrical
current of 500 kiloamperes.
The EAST is an upgrade of China's first-generation Tokamak
device and the first of its kind in operation in the world, said
Chinese scientists.
The Institute of Plasma Physics spent eight years and 200
million yuan (US$25 million) on building the experimental
reactor.
(Xinhua News Agency January 15, 2007)