Imagine harnessing the power of the sun right here on Earth… 🔥☀️ Thats exactly what scientists at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), nicknamed the artificial sun, have achieved by smashing through a long-standing fusion challenge.
In a study published this Friday in the journal Science Advances, researchers from the institute of plasma physics at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the Chinese mainland, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Aix-Marseille University in France unveiled a breakthrough: they surpassed the plasma density limit in a tokamak for the first time.
A tokamak is a donut-shaped machine that uses powerful magnets to trap superhot plasma – think millions of degrees – to kickstart fusion reactions. The higher the plasma density, the more likely atoms collide and fuse, releasing clean energy. But push density too far and the plasma gets unstable, tearing away from its magnetic hold and threatening the device's safety.
Until now, the physics driving this density wall remained a mystery. The team developed a self-organized plasma-wall interaction model that pinpoints radiation instabilities – sparked by impurities at the plasma edge – as the trigger. Equipped with this insight, they adjusted the plasma environment to cross the classic density threshold, entering an unexpected density-free zone. 🚀
These experiments confirm that tokamaks can run at much higher densities than previously thought – a huge leap toward practical magnetic confinement fusion. More density means more fusion reactions and a brighter future for clean, limitless energy. 🌟
From labs in the Chinese mainland to collaboration with French scientists, this innovation lights the way for the next era of fusion research. Keep your eyes on EAST – it's literally bringing us closer to a sustainable energy sun on Earth!
Reference(s):
"Artificial sun" experiment able to break fusion plasma density limit
cgtn.com
