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An artificial sun is one step closer again. Scientists managed to keep it running for a record time

     
Martin Bárta
24. 1. 2025 ▪ 13:14

Scientists have succeeded in achieving another significant increase in the duration for which the so-called artificial sun, or fusion reactor, was operational. The new record, which amounts to nearly 18 minutes of operation, moves the technology one step closer to enabling humanity to obtain an unlimited source of emission-free energy in the future.

„Umělé slunce“ dosáhlo dalšího rekordu v době provozu, na ostré spuštění to ale stále není
The “artificial sun” has set another record for operating time, but it’s still not ready for full-scale deployment
Photo: Unsplash

This week, scientists at a Chinese research center successfully conducted a record-breaking experiment with the so-called artificial sun. The reactor, which scientists believe will be able to meet the ever-growing energy demand of humanity without emissions, was kept running for 1066 seconds, nearly 18 minutes. However, this is still not enough for full-scale operation.

So-called fusion reactors (tokamaks), often described as artificial suns because of the way they function, have been the focus of scientific teams around the world for many years. After all, a significant share of the functioning of these devices, known as tokamaks, is contributed by scientists from the Czech Republic.

The operating principle of fusion reactors significantly differs from the nuclear reactors used today, even though they also belong to the nuclear domain. Fusion reactors do not rely on fuel rods containing enriched uranium, as is the case with conventional nuclear power plants, but instead utilize the principle of energy release that occurs in the sun. That's why these devices are referred to as artificial suns.

The magic of fusion reactors lies in the fact that, under very high pressure and heat, two hydrogen atoms can be combined to form one helium atom. It is during this process that additional energy is released. The challenge of the entire process is to create conditions—reactors—that can withstand the high temperatures and pressure, maintaining the process stable for extended periods.

In recent years, there has been considerable success in improving fusion reactor technologies, but they are still not at a stage where these devices can begin delivering energy to the distribution network akin to current nuclear power plants. Scientists have not yet been able to produce more energy in real-world operations than is required to initiate the fusion process, meaning the reactors still consume more energy than they produce, which is, of course, not ideal when you want to build a reactor that can serve as an energy source.

The key to making tokamaks produce more energy than is initially put into them, functioning as relatively safe energy sources, is to extend the duration during which the fusion reaction runs in the reactor. The recent progress reported by scientists at the EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) facility in Hefei, China, shows that humanity is getting closer to achieving this technology.

Scientists managed to maintain plasma, a sort of mixture of atomic nuclei and electrons, in motion for nearly 18 minutes, which is a new world record. However, for future stable fusion reactions, scientists believe fusion reactions need to occur for thousands of seconds. The current 1066 seconds is still a significant increase from the previous world record of 403 seconds, also set by Chinese researchers.



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The original article was published in Czech under the title: Umělé slunce je opět o krok blíž. Vědcům se podařilo udržet ho v provozu po rekordní dobu