China's "artificial sun" set a new world record on Monday when it kept a high-confinement plasma at a steady state temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,066 seconds, China Media Group reported.
Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST)located in Hefei, Anhui Province, eastern China, has achieved this breakthrough in high confinement (H-mode), demonstrating the potential for stable operation of future fusion reactors.
The H-mode significantly reduces turbulence at the plasma edge, improving energy retention and effectively doubling the plasma residence time compared to the low confinement mode (L-mode). This mode is considered the preferred operating mode for future fusion reactors, including large projects such as International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Maintaining the H-mode at extreme temperatures provides valuable data and experience for the further development of practical nuclear fusion.
EAST is designed to mimic the fusion reactions that power the Sun, using hydrogen and deuterium as fuel. The insights gained are key to the development of industrial reactors capable of producing clean and sustainable energy.
The device uses advanced technologies such as superconducting magnets, ultra-high vacuum systems and precision control mechanisms to manage extremely strong magnetic fields and large electric currents. EAST contains nearly one million components operating in perfect synchronization and has been awarded approximately 2,000 patents.
Since its launch in 2006, EAST has performed more than 150,000 plasma experiments and continues to push the boundaries of long pulse operations in the high confinement regime. The recent achievement of 1,066 seconds in H-mode builds on previous milestones, including 30 seconds in 2012, 60 seconds in 2016, 101 seconds in 2017, and 403 seconds in 2023.