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China on Friday ordered a new type of fusion reactor, known as an “artificial sun,” the state news agency Xinhua reported.
It is the largest and most modern fusion reactor in China. The Tokamak HL-2M research reactor in Sichuan province could open up new avenues in the search for renewable energy sources.
The reactor creates a magnetic field so strong that the nuclei can fuse with the heat it produces. It can create temperatures in excess of 150 million degrees Celsius, which is ten times hotter than the Sun’s interior. That is why the reactor, which was completed last year, was nicknamed the “artificial sun.”
Nuclear fusion could be a new method of energy production, a long-term alternative to burning fossil fuels and controversial nuclear fission. The method is clean as it does not produce waste or greenhouse gases.
The principle of nuclear fusion has already been applied to hydrogen bombs and should not be confused with nuclear fission. The latter is used in conventional nuclear power plants, MTI reported.
China is the world’s biggest polluter, and its economic growth is largely based on the use of fossil fuels. However, there is no other country that invests as much in renewable energy as China.
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