Why is China trying to build an artificial sun? - Interesting Engineering
Why is China trying to build an artificial sun?
Why is China trying to build an artificial sun?China is looking for a clean, sustainable energy source and is turning to the power of nuclear fusion.Sejal Sharma| Sep 19, 2023 01:33 PM ESTCreated: Sep 19, 2023 01:33 PM ESTinnovationAn aerial photo of CRAFTXinhua Get a daily digest of the latest news in tech, science, and technology, delivered right to your mailbox. Subscribe now.By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Policies You may unsubscribe at any time.What is a clean source of power that could provide clean and unlimited energy? Nuclear energy, which uses nuclear fission, comes to mind. But there is another potential source of energy that would promote sustainability – nuclear fusion.Nuclear fusion is the opposite of nuclear fission. Fission means splitting atoms apart, which results in the release of energy. Fusion is when two atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus. Fusion is the process that powers the Sun and the stars.In a bid to harness the power of the Sun, China is building a science facility called Comprehensive Research Facility for Fusion Technology (CRAFT) in Hefei, Anhui province. According to the country’s official news agency, Xinhua, the facility will serve to incubate core technologies used in the power generation of fusion energy. See Also Related Student-built nuclear fusion reactor to debut in Australia Machine learning might help us finally unlock nuclear fusion CRAFT will be completed by 2025It’s the country’s largest nuclear fusion research facility and has been nicknamed ‘Kuafu’ after a mythical giant. Kuafu was a giant in Chinese mythology who tried to capture the Sun but died in the process. China has used the mythical giant’s name in previous projects as well. Last year, China launched a space solar observatory nicknamed ‘Kuafu-1’ in October.Pictures uploaded by Xinhua reveal a doughnut-shaped vacuum chamber where the fusion experiments will take place. In Anhui, there exists another nuclear fusion facility named the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which has previously been known to break records in the generation of fusion energy. Inside EAST is a superconducting magnetic fusion energy reactor, which is also doughnut-shaped and uses magnetic fields to confine plasma at very high temperatures, reported SCMP. In December 2021, EAST said they were able to generate 120 million degrees Fahrenheit plasma (around 70 million degrees Celsius) and hold it for 1,056 seconds, reported Newsweek.Clean energy is the futureAlthough coal and natural gas are the primary energy sources around the world, scientists and researchers are scrambling to find alternative clean energy sources that are not limited in supply, like coal and natural gas. Nuclear fusion replicates our Sun's physics and generates large amounts of energy into electricity. Fusion doesn’t leave any radioactive waste and is said to be even safer than nuclear fission.According to Xinhua, one liter of seawater has enough deuterium to produce fusion energy, equivalent to burning 300 liters (79 gallons) of petrol. Scientists and staff at the facility have already started working on projects and testing the equipment at the complex.Hu Jiansheng, deputy director of the Institute of Plasma Physics at Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, told the Global Times that China could achieve the application of fusion energy in about 30 to 50 years.Although China's EAST is being used to test this technology for an even bigger reactor under construction in France, the world is getting closer to sustainably harnessing cosmic power. HomeInnovationAdd Interesting Engineering to your Google News feed.Add Interesting Engineering to your Google News feed.SHOW COMMENT (1) For You Cooler temperatures may help to extend EV-battery lifeWhat is pre-war steel, and why are people stealing it?Are wines losing the battle against climate change?Why China and Russia can not match USS Gerald R. FordThe mystery behind the Amazon's fertile patches of landManganese ocean ‘potatos’ are highly radioactiveIt’s not you, it’s me: How to politely decline a job offer and still get aheadEuropes's biggest solar thermal platform unveiled in BelgiumWhy do matter and the universe exist at all? Scientists get closer to the answerCould a gene switch off anxiety? Job Board
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.