Latest news with #SongYuntao
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China's Next-Gen Fusion Reactor Could Achieve First Plasma in Just 2 Years
China is racing forward in its effort to pave the way in fusion energy science, and state-sponsored media reported earlier this week that one of the country's next-gen reactors is now under construction. The Burning Plasma Experiment Superconducting Tokamak, or BEST, is an intermediary reactor between China's first-generation reactor and the Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR)—a fusion plant demonstrator. BEST is planned to go online in 2027, and aims for net energy gain similar to the SPARC reactor currently under construction by Commonwealth Fusion Systems in the U.S. The promise of fusion energy is hard to overstate. With the ability to leverage the energy-producing physics that powers our Sun, humanity could tap into a near-limitless wealth of carbon-free energy, forever ending our dependence on the fossil fuels that are quickly poisoning the planet. Of course, such immense promise comes with a few caveats, chief among them being that creating a fusion reaction and sustaining that reaction for net energy output is one of the hardest engineering challenges humans have ever attempted to solve. The challenge is so immense that 35 countries (including the U.S., China, Russia, and several countries in the European Union) have joined forces to build International Thermonuclear Experiment Reactor (ITER)—a magnetic confinement tokamak (a.k.a. donut-shaped) reactor that hopes to see first plasma by 2035—in southern France. While that's the world's best foot forward when it comes to fusion research, individual countries are also pursuing their own thermonuclear energy goals. And none are doubling down harder than China. Xinhua, a state-sponsored media outlet, reports that country's Burning Plasma Experiment Superconducting Tokamak, or BEST, is now in its final assembly in Hefei, China. This reactor builds on the work of China's first-generation tokamak, the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which is also located at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science. According to South China Morning Post, another state-sponsored media outlet, the BEST reactor—which plans to go online in just two years—will be an intermediary step between EAST and the Chinese Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR), the latter of which is a large-scale demonstrator for fusion power plants. From assembly to first plasma in just two years is remarkably fast, but Song Yuntao—the project's chief engineer from the Institute of Plasma Physics—claim that this fits with China's overall aggressive timeline for achieving utility-scale fusion. 'We have fully mastered the core technologies, both scientifically and technically,' Yuntao told the South China Morning Post. And he isn't bluffing—China is currently developing several fusion projects across the country. For instance, IEEE Spectrum notes that the country is building an x-shaped facility in Sichuan that resembles the U.S. National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory—the first lab to achieve fusion ignition (net energy output) back in 2022. They're also building a 40-hectare complex for fusion research, along with a fusion-fission hybrid power plant in central China. As IEEE Spectrum notes, fusion is the perfect technology for fulfilling President Xi Jinping's 'Great Rejuvenation' agenda, which focuses on securing domestic energy, reducing emissions, and leading the world in advanced technologies. The U.S., on the other hand, is taking another approach by largely letting private industry invest in fusion, which is why the South China Morning Post compares China's BEST reactor with the reactor built by Commonwealth Fusion Systems—a spinoff from MIT. The company's reactor, SPARC, also aims to demonstrate net output by 2027. The oft-quoted phrase related to fusion development is that 'it's 30 years away—and it always will be.' However, with a technological race heating up between the U.S. and China, that phrase might soon need revising. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
South China Morning Post
04-05-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
‘China speed' accelerates drive towards next step in nuclear fusion
China is accelerating its efforts to build the world's first nuclear fusion reactor capable of achieving net energy generation – a move that would be a historic step towards commercialising a clean, safe and near-limitless source of energy. Advertisement The Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (Best), is now in its final assembly phase in Hefei and is expected to be completed in 2027, state news agency Xinhua reported. However, SPARC, an experimental fusion facility under construction in Massachusetts, is working towards the same goal – that of producing more energy from fusion than it consumes – and is working to a similar timeline. The assembly of Best involves tens of thousands of components with a total weight of around 6,000 tonnes. 'We have fully mastered the core technologies, both scientifically and technically,' said Song Yuntao, the project's chief engineer from the Institute of Plasma Physics in Hefei, at a ceremony marking the start of the final stage of construction on Thursday. Advertisement Work began two months ahead of schedule, according to Xinhua. 'In less than two years, we completed the civil construction, with components from various systems already reaching operational readiness – this is what we call 'China speed',' said Yan Jianwen, chairman of Neo Fusion, the state-backed company leading the project. Best is a tokamak, a doughnut-shaped device widely seen as the most promising design for making nuclear fusion – a process that recreates the process by which the sun generates energy – a viable source of electricity.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China's new 'artificial sun' sets world record — here's how it could change energy production forever
There's a new sun rising in China. Well, sort of. China's nuclear fusion reactor, called the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) officially but an "artificial sun" by many, has just set a record for the longest sustained, stable nuclear fusion reaction. EAST maintained the reaction for 17 minutes and 46 seconds, smashing its own previous 2023 world record of 6 minutes and 43 seconds, according to Newsweek. If nuclear fusion technology can be safely harnessed, it will provide a practically infinite source of clean energy. Needless to say, that would be incredibly beneficial for humanity. Not only does nuclear fusion not produce the harmful carbon emissions burning fossil fuels does, but it doesn't require constant sun or wind, like solar and turbines respectively do. You turn the machine on, and it just produces basically free power. Forever. Unlike current nuclear-generated power, which relies on nuclear fission, nuclear fusion produces no harmful radioactive elements when under operation. Nuclear fission plants bombard atoms with electrons, breaking them apart, which releases energy but also produces radioactive isotopes that must be safely contained and stored. Nuclear fusion works in the opposite way. Reactors like EAST take hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe and force its atomic nuclei to bond under enormous pressure. This releases huge amounts of energy, which the reactor harnesses. But it's a tough scientific nut to crack. This new record by EAST moves humanity one step closer, though. "A fusion device must achieve stable operation at high efficiency for thousands of seconds to enable the self-sustaining circulation of plasma, which is critical for the continuous power generation of future fusion plants," said Song Yuntao, director of the Chinese Academy of Science's Institute of Plasma Physics. EAST has been in operation for nearly 20 years and has been upgraded thoroughly since it first went online in 2006, according to news agency Xinhua. Should we be pouring money into nuclear fusion technology? Yes — it'll pay off It's worth exploring Not from our tax dollars No — it's a waste Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. What researchers are learning with EAST will be folded into the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a giant tokamak-type reactor under construction in France, as part of a global effort. "We hope to expand international collaboration via EAST and bring fusion energy into practical use for humanity," Song said in a statement. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'Artificial Sun' Blazes Past 1,000 Seconds in New Fusion Record
Scientists just set a new record in attempts to create an 'artificial Sun' down here on planet Earth. The team behind the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in China kept their fusion drive running for more than 1,000 seconds for the first time – lasting for 1,066 seconds (almost 18 minutes) to be exact. First powered up in 2006, EAST is one of several nuclear fusion reactors being worked on, in attempts to produce virtually limitless amounts of clean energy in the same way our own Sun produces energy. Of course, simulating a tiny version of the Sun inside a laboratory is quite a challenge, which is why milestones like this one are so important. Keeping ultra-hot plasma stable for extended periods of time is crucial to the success of EAST, and the new 1,066-second record smashes the previous one of 403 seconds for these plasma conditions. The breakthrough was achieved by researchers at the Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) and the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), both part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). "A fusion device must achieve stable operation at high efficiency for thousands of seconds to enable the self-sustaining circulation of plasma, which is critical for the continuous power generation of future fusion plants," says nuclear physicist Song Yuntao from the Institute of Plasma Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. While China hasn't shared a lot of detail about the conditions for this 1,066-second achievement, the researchers say their heating system has doubled in power through recent innovations – so it can now reach the equivalent of 140,000 microwave ovens being switched on at once. Since it first went online, the EAST team has made steady progress in increasing the temperature and the stability of the plasma at the core of the machine. It uses what's known as high-confinement plasma, essentially a better way of trapping the gas. Tokamak (donut-shaped) reactors like this one use plasma and magnetic fields to create the conditions to smash together hydrogen atoms at incredible speeds and under intense pressure, which then releases huge amounts of energy. We're still a long way off getting a fully functioning nuclear fusion reactor that can connect to power grids, but every step forward in the technology is encouraging – and adds to the evidence that this may one day be a viable power source. So what's next? Work is already underway on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in the south of France, which promises to be the largest fusion reactor yet – and one that should be capable of breaking even more records. Earth's Magnetic North Pole Is Officially Moving – Scientists Just Updated Its Location This Is Why You Can't Hula Hoop, According to Science Eerie Light Seen in The Sky May Be a New Phenomenon, Scientists Say
