How China's 'Artificial sun' burned five times hotter than our sun - Vastlycurious

    Imagine what it would be like to have a miniature version of the sun here on our planet, it certainly could solve our energy problems. Our Sun is an enormous nuclear fusion generator that fuses 620 million tons of hydrogen with 600 million tons of helium every second and during the process, some of the mass is converted into energy. This colossal amount of energy could be produced on earth if we manage to create the artificial sun and it could create an endless supply of clean energy. Could it be the solution of getting rid of coal and nuclear power plants? Can we control it and is it safe to manage?

Creating an Artificial Sun on Earth

Creating a new world record

    China's new artificial sun has created a new world record for holding the temperature of 70 million degrees Celsius (158 degrees F), which is five times hotter than the surface temperature of the Sun for 1,056 seconds on January 2022. The same reactor EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) has already set a mind-boggling record of holding the temperature of the reactor at 120 million Celsius (216 million F) for 101 seconds. EAST is set to collaborate with 35 different countries to produce a stronger magnetic field around the artificial sun, thereby creating massive fusion reactions which could generate more energy output. 

Why do we need an Artificial Sun?

    Having an Artificial Sun at our disposal would be a great idea which could provide us with the colossal amount of energy enough to satisfy our energy needs. This could help us against the fight against climate change and it might give our planet a second chance. This technology might put an end to electricity generators that are based on fossil fuels and nuclear reactions. It might also boost up our space exploration, with hot plasma fueling our spacecraft the space travel would become rapid and efficient. Someday the technology will not just be an expensive science experiment, but it will be available to everyone as a feasible energy source.

How does the Fusion nuclear reactor work?

    
    To create an artificial sun on Earth, an enormous amount of hydrogen atoms has to fuse with an enormous amount of helium atoms under extreme temperatures. But even the coldest temperature on the surface of the sun is 5500 degrees Celsius (9932 F) is way beyond the melting point of any material available on Earth. So a high-temperature superconducting material could be used to contain the heat produced by the sun. The superconductors would then be surrounded by a robust blanket which would sustain a tremendous amount of heat.

Nuclear reactor to produce an Artificial Sun (Xinhua)

    To run the fusion nuclear reactor, two specific isotopes of hydrogen, Deuterium and Tritium are needed. Deuterium is easy to extract as it is available in large quantities in the oceans and Tritium could only be obtained from the fusion reaction with lithium. To create a magnetic field around the artificial sun, huge magnets are arranged in a manner that produces a proper magnetic field. This could potentially generate a limitless amount of energy as there is an abundant amount of hydrogen in our universe. The fusion reaction in the Artificial sun does not emit any greenhouse gases into the surroundings and it is also regarded as a safe procedure with a lower risk of mishaps.

Future plans for Artificial Sun

    The current record of holding the temperature of the reactor to 70 million degrees Celsius (158 degrees F) for 1,056 seconds might seem like a pretty big achievement, but we haven't figured a way to increase the output compared to the input we are supplying. The EAST experiment would cost around one trillion dollars for completion and they are working with the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) to build a bigger project in Marseille, France. Harnessing the power of the star is definitely not simple, so China collaborates with 35 countries to build the largest nuclear reactor and it is planned to be constructed before 2025. The British companies are hoping that the artificial nuclear reactor would be available within 2030.