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China actually runsa nuclear fusion device

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    China actually runsa nuclear fusion device

    This is the first report I have seen of a nuclear fusion device actually running for more than seconds.

    This news article says China ran their "artificial sun" for seventeen minutes and it was five times hotter than our sun!

    Link:

    Last week, China switched on a nuclear fusion reactor. The “artificial sun” is known as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (or EAST for short). After turning it on, China noticed record high levels for sustained temperatures. According to China’s state media, the EAST reactor ran five times hotter than the real Sun for over 17 … The post China switched on its nuclear fusion device that’s 5 times hotter than the Sun appeared first on BGR.


    Text below:

    This week, China switched on a nuclear fusion reactor. The “artificial sun” is known as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (or EAST for short). After turning it on, China noticed record high levels for sustained temperatures. According to China’s state media, the EAST reactor ran five times hotter than the real Sun for over 17 minutes.

    China says its overall goal with the nuclear fusion reactor is to provide near limitless clean energy. The hope is that the reactor can mimic the natural reactions that occur within stars like the Sun. The idea is one that has been proposed for years. However, creating a working artificial sun has proven to be difficult, despite decades of research. This latest run, though, could help China break through the walls that have been holding back researchers for years.

    “The recent operation lays a solid scientific and experimental foundation towards the running of a fusion reactor,” Gong Xianzu, one of the experiment’s leaders and a researcher with the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said.

    If China can continue work on its artificial sun, we could see more breakthroughs in the future. 17 minutes might not sound like long, but when you have something running at more than 70,000,000° C for that long, it’s pretty impressive, to say the least. Previously we’ve also seen other artificial suns reach upwards of 100 million degrees, another record level.

    The idea behind nuclear fusion reactors isn’t exactly easy. The entire basis of the idea is built on replicating the physics of the actual Sun. Artificial suns do this by merging atomic nuclei together to generate massive amounts of energy. Researchers are then trying to find ways to transfer all of that energy into electricity. There’s probably a lot more math involved in the actual process, but that’s the basic gist of what scientists are trying to accomplish.

    Because artificial suns don’t require any fossil fuels to run, and they also leave behind no hazardous waste, physicists say there is far less risk to the environment. This is especially true when you compare it to other energy sources out there, like nuclear fission reactors.

    China isn’t the only country working on creating an artificial sun, either. As mentioned before, the research into the idea has been ongoing for decades at this point. The same team from China’s reactor will also work with a team in Marseille, France. Once completed, the artificial sun in Marseille will be the world’s largest reactor. It’s known as the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The United Kingdom also has plans to build its own nuclear fusion power station.
    Bertrand Russell: 'Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.'


    #2
    cost per kilowatt hour?
    Did they get more energy out than the put in?
    1983 GS 550 LD
    2009 BMW K1300s

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      #3
      They are still in test stage, so there is no transition into usable power, but the 17+ minute duration is far longer than anything I have heard of until now.

      I also do not know how they measure the heat, but am greatly puzzled by how it could possibly be contained, so I cannot guess how it could be harnessed and used.
      Bertrand Russell: 'Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.'

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        #4
        My favorite science explainer made a recent video on the subject:
        1982 GS1100G- road bike
        1990 GSX750F-(1127cc '92 GSXR engine)
        1987 Honda CBR600F Hurricane

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          #5
          Originally posted by Buffalo Bill View Post
          My favorite science explainer made a recent video on the subject
          She's caught my attention a time or two. I'll add one of my favorites to the list.

          1980 Yamaha XS1100G (Current bike)
          1982 GS450txz (former bike)
          LONG list of previous bikes not listed here.

          I identify as a man but according to the label on a box of Stauffers Baked Lasagne I'm actually a family of four

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