Chinese scientists set a world record by keeping the plasma temperature up to 100 million degrees Celsius for 18 minutes.
Scientists have achieved this feat using the experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), a nuclear fusion reactor called an ‘artificial sun’.
The experiment used hydrogen and deuterium as fuel, allowing scientists to mimic the process on the Sun. This ‘artificial sun’ experiment is a step towards making nuclear fusion a practical source of energy.
According to project director Song Yuntao, the achievement of self-sustaining plasma is a significant achievement.
He said that fusion devices have to run stably for thousands of seconds to generate electricity.
However, building reactors to produce such extreme conditions poses obvious challenges.
