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05/12/20 12:30 PM IST

China turns on artificial sun

In news
China successfully powered up its "artificial sun" nuclear fusion reactor for the first time

Aim

To develop its fusion technology as it plans to build an experimental reactor as early as next year, build an industrial prototype by 2035 and go into large-scale commercial use by 2050.

Highlights 
  • According to China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), the HL-2M Tokamak apparatus is able to operate at 150 million degrees Celsius – almost three times hotter than the previous version called HL-2A.
  • The ability to generate such ultra-high temperature is essential for the research of fusion process, replicating the way the sun produces energy using hydrogen and deuterium gases as fuels.
  • The sun only operates at a temperature of 15 million degrees Celsius.
  • The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which is under construction in southern France, is designed also to operate at up to 150 million degrees Celsius (270 million Fahrenheit).
Working

It uses a powerful magnetic field to fuse hot plasma and can reach temperatures of over 150 million degrees Celsius

Significance
  • The development of nuclear fusion energy is not only a way to solve China's strategic energy needs, but also has great significance for the future sustainable development of China's energy and national economy.
  • They plan to use the device in collaboration with scientists working on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor—the world's largest nuclear fusion research project based in France, which is expected to be completed in 2025.
Fusion & Fission
  • Fusion is considered the Holy Grail of energy and is what powers our sun.
  • It merges atomic nuclei to create massive amounts of energy—the opposite of the fission process used in atomic weapons and nuclear power plants, which splits them into fragments.
  • Unlike fission, fusion does not create radioactive waste, and carries less risk of accidents or the theft of atomic material.
Source: The Hindu

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