The Plasma Physics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will begin testing a new generation experimental nuclear fusion reactor in July or August 2006.
The new generation Tokamak nuclear fusion reactor from China is set for trials in July or August 2006. If successful, it would be the first operational experimental nuclear fusion reactor in the world.
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Experimental nuclear fusion reactor Tokamak. |
Mr. Li Jiangang, from the Plasma Physics Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the project leader, stated that this project represents a “significant advancement” for China in harnessing fusion energy.
The project has an investment of 165 million yuan (approximately 20 million USD).
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Plasma captured from video. |
Additionally, according to Mr. Li, this project has the potential to generate plasma (a state of matter with equal amounts of positively and negatively charged particles, found in the sun and most stars) at temperatures ranging from 50 to 100 million degrees Celsius, sustained for 1,000 continuous seconds.
Previously, in the mid-1980s, the United States and the Soviet Union undertook a major project worth 10 billion euros (over 12 billion USD) called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), with China joining the project in 2003.
Utilizing deuterium found in seawater as fuel, a reactor capable of withstanding 100 million degrees Celsius could generate 500 megawatts of electrical power.
Currently, all commercial nuclear reactors worldwide operate on nuclear fission, in contrast to nuclear fusion, and rely on non-renewable minerals such as uranium and plutonium. The waste from these reactors is radioactive, while thermonuclear reactors are environmentally friendly.
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