- Scientists in China are working on a giant and ambitious project that would see them building a nuclear reactor
- The nuclear reactor is known as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), but it is also called the artificial sun
- The Chinese nuclear reactor, which aims to provide limitless energy, generated a steady loop of plasma for 1,066 seconds
CHECK OUT: Don’t let unemployment hold you back. Start your digital marketing journey today.
Scientists in China are building a powerful nuclear reactor that could become the holy grail in clean energy generation.
The nuclear reactor is known popularly as the “artificial sun” because it is an ambitious project that aims to replicate the energy-generating capabilities of the sun.
Scientists in China are building a Tokamak to generate energy like the sun. Photo credit: Getty Images/koto_feja and Pierre Longnus.Source: Getty Images
The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), a nuclear fusion reactor, is being built to generate energy by fusing two light atoms into a single heavy atom via heat and pressure, LiveScience reports.
The EAST is said to be much hotter than the actual sun if it succeeds.
Nuclear fusion, such as the type being developed by the Chinese scientists, offers the potential of a near-unlimited power source without greenhouse gas emissions.
China is building a nuclear reactor to generate energy. Photo credit: Getty Images/DrPixel.Source: Getty Images
The Chinese artificial sun is still a work in progress, but in January, it was reported that it achieved a new milestone.
According to media reports, the Chinese artificial sun maintained a steady, highly confined loop of plasma for 1066 seconds.
Located in Hefei, Anhui province, the artificial sun cannot be used to generate electricity yet because it is still a work in progress.
According to Song Yuntao, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics responsible for the fusion project at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the reactor would have to achieve stable operation at high efficiency for thousands of seconds before it would be put to use.
He said, as quoted by LiveScience:
“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.”
Scientists discover bone tools in Africa
In a related story reported by TheTalk.NG, a group of archeological researchers has discovered some bone tools which were forged 1.5 million years ago in Africa.
The research work was published in the journal Nature and states that the tools were made by ancient humans.
The bone tools were made of elephant and hippopotamus bones, and they were found in Tanzania’s Olduvai Gorge.
Ignacio de la Torre, who is a scientist at the Spanish National Research Council’s Institute of History and codirector of the Olduvai Gorge Archaeology, said the ancient humans incorporated innovation in stone work.
His words:
“This expansion of technological potential indicates advances in the cognitive abilities and mental structures of these hominins, who knew how to incorporate technical innovations by adapting their knowledge of stone work to the manipulation of bone remains.”
Source: TheTalk.NG
