Scientists have been working on nuclear fusion for decades now.
We know, we’ve been hearing it for decades too.
This is a project that some claim can literally change civilization while everyone else is busy debating whether AI will take over our lives. So, every now and then, one can find news headlines saying that we have created “the artificial Sun”, and the Internet gets hella excited.
But wait, the latest announcement actually seems to be worth paying attention to.
In China, the largest superconducting fusion magnet has been created and tested, which weighs more than 582 tons! This is a huge engineering achievement that will help to create fusion energy stations in the future. No, it doesn’t mean China has bottled the Sun in a lab. But it does mean the race for practically unlimited clean energy just unlocked a new achievement.
Wait… what even is an “artificial Sun”?
To start with, let’s eliminate the most widespread misunderstanding.
Scientists are not attempting to duplicate the Sun just for fun. The phrase “artificial Sun” is merely a nick-name assigned to nuclear fusion reactors as they utilize the same mechanism as that of the real Sun.
In the Sun, a hydrogen atom collides with another hydrogen atom under extreme pressure at astounding temperatures reaching millions of degrees, fusing in the process and releasing huge amounts of energy.
Fusion reactors are really trying to achieve the same results on Earth.
The only problem is that hydrogen plasma should be heated to over 100 million °C, which is even hotter than the center of the Sun. Nothing can contain plasma at such temperatures. All the matter just evaporates! POOF.
So, the question is: how can you stop a literal mini-star from touching the walls?
You need very (very) powerful magnets.
Meet the 582-tonne unit that’s holding the future together
The most notable success for China is not the fusion reactor itself, but the Toroidal Field (TF) superconducting magnet, which is arguably the most critical equipment of the tokamak fusion reactor.
And, yes, it is hella huge in size.
This is what scientists created:
– 582 tons of weight
– 21 meters in length
– 12 meters in width
– 3.3 meters in height
– A super-sized D-shaped superconducting magnet
The Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed it and claimed it to be the largest superconducting magnet in the world.
What is its main purpose, you might ask? It provides for the creation of an extremely powerful magnetic field that allows to keep a superheated plasma suspended in the air and does not allow the plasma to touch the walls. You can call it the world’s largest invisible bowl.
Without magnets like this, controlled fusion simply doesn’t happen.
How are superconductors basically cheat codes?
Now we get to the most exciting ahhh part of physics.
Ordinary magnets lose energy as soon as electric current meets resistance. Superconductors are not subject to that.
They are super nonchalant, speaking for the Genz reading this.
Cool some materials down to very low temperatures and the electrical resistance is reduced almost to zero. Suddenly, electricity can circulate almost forever while producing ridiculously strong magnetic fields.
The new Chinese magnet is able to operate at 98,000 amps, with magnetic energy of no less than 120 gigajoules. According to the Chinese Academy of Sciences, it has a volume one and a half times higher and three times more energy stored compared to toroidal magnets created for ITER – the largest fusion research project in the world that is being constructed in France.
Simply speaking, if there’s a gym leaderboard for engineering achievements, this quite possibly sets a new record.
But does this mean we will have access to unlimited electricity tomorrow?
The short answer is: no.
The long answer is: OH HELL NAHH BROTHER
This is an important engineering advancement, sure, but fusion is still one of the most tricky scientific challenges faced by humanity. Scientists still have to show that reactors can keep plasma stable for a long time, generate more energy than is consumed, and be able to convert the energy into electricity.
What we mean is that we have created one of the important pieces of the puzzle, but the puzzle itself is still far from being completed.
This isn’t EAST. It’s what comes next.
If you’ve heard about China’s “Artificial Sun” before, you’re probably thinking of EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak), the experimental reactor that frequently grabs headlines for breaking plasma-duration records.
This new magnet is not just another excavation for EAST.
Essentially, it is built for China’s future fusion projects, including the Burning Plasma Experimental Superconducting Tokamak (BEST), and later on, the China Fusion Engineering Demonstration Reactor (CFEDR), which have a goal to make fusion really functional instead of laboratory experiments.
Currently, according to China’s plans, fusion power plants will be able to produce energy approximately in the early 2030s, but scientists insist that it is still a huge ahhh engineering challenge.
So the headlines about “artificial Sun” are a lil bit dramatic
Did China create a small Sun?
Not really.
Has China created one of the most crucial parts of the future power-generating fusion plants?
Abso-freakin-lutely.
The internet loves to reduce breakthroughs into “UNLIMITED ENERGY IS HERE!!!” Reality, as always, is a little less dramatic and a lot more impressive. Because while this 582-tonne magnet won’t power your phone tomorrow, it represents decades of superconducting engineering, plasma physics and enough brainpower to make every STEM kid collectively whisper, “That’s actually so cool.”
Humanity still hasn’t cracked fusion. But with engineering flexes like this, we’re definitely getting warmer. Literally.
Toodlesss.