Artificial Sun: Achievements so far

Rusia’s Artificial Sun

According to Wikipedia, the name (ITER) was initially an abbreviation for the English International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and presently the name is related to the Latin word iter – path.

Researchers truly consider ITER an artificial sun. In a vacuum chamber, the size of a 10-story building which is 30 meters in height and the equivalent in height is schemed to generate the thermonuclear fusion process on an industrial scale that powers our star.

Russia isn’t just one of the primary partners of this aspiring scientific project, but also its oldest member. The general concept of ​​a nuclear reactor, which the entire world is currently attempting to execute without embellishment, has a place with Soviet researchers from the Institute of Atomic Energy.

In concept, thermonuclear fusion is a limitless source of energy. Only a couple of grams of hydrogen fuel is sufficient to provide electricity and heat to many homes, and a pineapple-sized “briquette” can restore 10 tons of coal.

Unlike nuclear power plants or traditional thermal, a nuclear reactor doesn’t pollute the atmosphere with greenhouse gas emissions and doesn’t leave harmful radioactive waste.

The project members emphasize that ITER is a test reactor. This is certainly not a nuclear power plant, yet a site for an exceptional physical experiment. Nonetheless, if everything goes as per the plan, this experiment will decide the eventual fate of all energy on the planet.

Source: medium.com

Korean Artificial Sun

On Tuesday, November 24, 2020, the KSTAR Research Center at the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE) declared that in a joint research with Columbia University of the United States and the Seoul National University (SNU), it succeeded in consecutive operation of plasma for 20 seconds with an ion temperature over 100 million degrees, which is one of the main situations of nuclear fusion in the 2020 KSTAR Plasma Campaign.

It is an accomplishment to extend the 8-second plasma activity duration during the 2019 KSTAR Plasma Campaign on multiple occasions. In its 2018 analysis, the KSTAR arrived at the plasma ion temperature of 100 million degrees for the first time, its retention time being about 1.5 seconds.

To re-make reactions that happen in the sun on Earth, hydrogen isotopes should be put inside a fusion device like KSTAR to make a plasma state where electrons and ions are separated, and ions should be heated and kept up at high temperatures.

Up until now, other fusion devices have momentarily managed plasma at temperatures of 100 million degrees or higher. None of these fusion devices broke the limit of keeping up the operation for 10 seconds or more. It is the operational barrier of a typical conducting device and it was hard to maintain a steady plasma state in the fusion device at such high temperatures for quite a while.

Notwithstanding the accomplishment in high-temperature plasma operation, the KSTAR Research Center conducts examinations of a diversity of subjects, including ITER researches, intended to tackle complex issues in fusion research during the rest of the examination time frame.

The last objective of the KSTAR is to excel in a continuous operation of 300 seconds with an ion temperature of more than 100 million degrees by 2025.

Korean artificial Sun
Source: Physics.org

China’s Artificial Sun

On Friday, December 4, 2020, China successfully activated its artificial sun which is a nuclear fusion reactor that could fuel its energy desire for quite a long time to come, if they can make it more feasible.

Nuclear fusion is known as a reaction comprising at least two nuclear cores being joined to shape one or more nuclear cores and subatomic particles. The distinction in mass between the products and reactants is absorbed or released in form of energy.

The process doesn’t bring about producing a lot of nuclear waste. The opposite process is known as fission in which the molecules split. It is more often utilized by power plants and nuclear weapons. Fission creates nuclear waste however fusion is simpler to achieve.

China’s artificial Sun
Source: thesun.co.uk

China’s Atomic Energy Authority started its HL-2M Tokamak reactor unexpectedly on Friday, and the brief test is being hailed as a significant scientific accomplishment amid a worldwide effort to create more secure, cleaner forms of nuclear energy.

The reactor creates power by applying strong magnetic fields to a contained loop of hot plasma, which can arrive at temperatures of over 150 million C. That is multiple times hotter than the center of the sun, however, supercooling technology and magnets keep it contained.

In addition, China has been working closely with the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project, an alliance of many nuclear-powered countries.

Importance of Nuclear Fusion Energy

  • The improvement of nuclear fusion energy would prompt addressing China’s energy requirements.
  • It would likewise provide for the future reasonable improvement of China’s energy and national economy boosting.

Fusion is known to be restrictively costly, however, this testing by China would help the scientists as they continued looking for ways to lessen costs.

  • The Chinese Energy Agency’s goal is to build up a valid form of nuclear fusion based on a similar concept.
  • One advantage of artificial sun is creating new information which would be a lot helpful in studies about the sun and to improvise and develop fusion reactor technology.
  • China’s artificial sun is the most latest of its kind and therefore, it would spark youthful minds who have an interest in the field, if china presents the experimental proof and logical information for its achievement in existence.
  • The reactor discharges enormous amounts of energy which could be very converted and used for various energy needs. This could decrease the pollution level and result in prospects for sustainable improvement of energy. Additionally, increment in economic growth.
  • With the use of the artificial sun or artificial sunlight, there is no night or day. The amount of sunlight for indoor growing can be more controlled, compared to dealing with outdoor growing, the natural Sun, and the sometimes interference of seasons, and weather.

Reference:

  • https://www.google.com/amp/s/globalnews.ca/news/7505850/china-artificial-sun/amp/
  • https://m.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/chinas-artificial-sun-all-you-need-to-know-about-the-nuclear-fusion-reactor-1607431364-1
  • https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2020-12-china-nuclear-powered-artificial-sunamp
  • p https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-an-artificial-sun
  • https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_sunlighthttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_sunlight
  • https://www.google.com/amp/s/phys.org/news/2020-12-korean-artificial-sun-world-sec-long.amp
  • https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forumdaily.com/en/iskusstvennoe-solnce-vo-francii-nachalos-stroitelstvo-unikalnogo-termoyadernogo-reaktora/amp/

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One Response

  1. writetoanuz says:

    I applaud the publication of your article on this topic.. It’s a good reminder to look on the humorous side of our daily challenges.

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