Artificial Sun
People always say to me that we already have a sun, so why create another? Nuclear fusion is the energy source of the entire universe. Construction of the ‘artificial sun’ is an effort to continuously and steadily produce energy through nuclear fusion reactions and ultimately solve the energy problem for the benefit of all mankind.
Zhong Wulu, deputy director of the Fusion Science Institute under the Southwestern Institute of Physics, China National Nuclear Corporation
Chinese scientists set a new world record by achieving a plasma temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for a period of 101 seconds in a recent experiment, a key step toward test operation of a fusion reactor.
Compared with the current heavy nuclear fission method adopted by nuclear power plants, the biggest advantage of nuclear fusion is that it does not produce nuclear waste and is stable and safe. In addition to building its own “artificial sun,” China is also an important partner of the International Thermonuclear Fusion Experimental Reactor Program (ITER). Currently, Chinese professionals account for nearly 10 percent of ITER’S total employees, second only to those from the European Union. If the creators of the “artificial sun” can contain the energy of thermonuclear fusion, the technology could produce almost unlimited clean energy.