China Claims Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough, No Specifics

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <img alt="Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens)" height="275" src="http://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/rsz_shutterstock_403184353-e1473442569402.jpg" title="Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens)" width="640" /><br /> <span style="font-size: small;">Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens)</span><br /> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: small;"><i><a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/author/andrew-follett/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ANDREW FOLLETT</a></i><br /> <br /> <b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/12/china-claims-nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-no-specifics/" target="_blank">Energy and Science Reporter</a> </span></b></span><br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: small;">China’s state-controlled TV station claimed Sunday scientists made a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion research.<br /> Chinese researchers claim to have independently invented components to keep ionized gas burning steadily for twice the length of the previous record — an important step forward toward nuclear fusion, if true.<br /> The country allegedly created a component for a fusion reactor core that can withstand extremely high heat.<br /> <br /> “The component we invented is one of the first of its kind in the world that has passed the international cyclic heat test,” Cheng Jiming of China National Nuclear Corporation <a class="externalLink" href="http://english.cctv.com/2016/12/11/VIDEhckU10qimuaFeDvQwVRC161211.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">told CCTV</a>. “It really means a lot — it’s a great contribution to the international field of thermonuclear experimental reactors.”</span><br /> <br /> <div class="v2-processed image no-float"> <span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 465px;"><img class="caption lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/a6e4f9e2-a622-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=MPuPouDh" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/a6e4f9e2-a622-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=MPuPouDh" title="The donut-shaped chamber at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Hefei. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences" /><span class="image-caption hover-processed" style="display: block;"></span></span></div> Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST).<br /> H-mode, in a donut-shaped chamber shielded by a extremely strong electromagnetic field.<br /> <br /> CCTV wasn’t clear about what kind of breakthrough allegedly occurred, other than to say China is “<a class="externalLink" href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/2044428/how-chinas-leading-world-nuclear-fusion-research" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">leaving other nations in the dust</a>” and will pour more money into fusion research.<br /> <br /> China’s component is supposed to be installed on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France. China provides about 10 percent of the financial support for ITER and has scientists directly involved in the project. It claims the new component <a class="externalLink" href="http://news.qq.com/a/20161211/004269.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">is about 20 percent more heat-resistant</a> than the reactor’s design requires.<br /> <br /> <img alt="" class="lazyload-processed loaded" data-caption="The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) facility in Hefei, Anhui province. Photo: EyePress" data-enlarge="http://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980w/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/6294efda-a61e-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_1280x720.jpg?itok=rtyQ28tG" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/6294efda-a61e-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_1280x720.jpg?itok=vJQ0h0P7" height="359" src="http://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/6294efda-a61e-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_1280x720.jpg?itok=vJQ0h0P7" title="The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) facility in Hefei, Anhui province. Photo: EyePress" width="640" /> <br /> Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Anhui’s provincial<br />   <br /> <div class="v2-processed image no-float"> <span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-none" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: none; width: 465px;"><img class="caption lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/2d27bea6-a61c-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=v4GivXwt" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/660x385/public/images/methode/2016/12/08/2d27bea6-a61c-11e6-a836-75a661626cad_660x385.jpg?itok=v4GivXwt" title="Technicians build a radial plate for superconducting cables for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in a large workshop in La Seyne-Sur-Mer, southern France. Photo: AFP" /><span class="image-caption hover-processed" style="display: block;"></span></span></div> International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in France <br /> ITER members – Japan, South Korea, China, Russia, the US, India and the European Union<br /> <br /> ITER was originally expected to cost <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.iter.org/faq#Do_we_really_know_how_much_ITER_will_cost" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">approximately $5.7 billion</a>. Cost overruns, design changes and rising raw material prices <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.iter.org/faq#Why_have_ITER_costs_risen" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">saw the amount almost triple to $ 14.9 billion</a>. The project could end up costing $20 billion. <br /> <br /> Scientists in Germany found fusion reactors are feasible <a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/12/06/did-germany-just-unlock-nuclear-fusion/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">earlier this month</a> by determining that an experimental reactor was generating the right kind of magnetic field to trap plasma for long enough for nuclear fusion to occur.<br /> <br /> German engineers from the Max Planck Institute <a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/17/germany-tests-fusion-reactor-but-will-abandon-nuclear-by-2022/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">successfully activated</a> the experimental nuclear fusion reactor used in the research last December and managed to <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NN-German-fusion-reactor-achieves-first-plasma-1612154.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">suspend plasma for the first time</a>. The reactor <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.iflscience.com/technology/germany-just-successfully-fired-their-nuclear-fusion-reactor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">took 19 years and $1.1 billion to build</a> and contains over 470 tons of superconducting magnets, all of which need to be cooled to absolute zero.<br /> <br /> Nuclear fusion is different from conventional nuclear reactors, as fusion causes atoms to join at extremely high temperatures and release huge amounts of energy. The process would generate essentially no hazardous waste and <a class="externalLink" href="http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/nucene/fusion.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">wouldn’t require hazardous fuel</a>.<br />   <br /> <div class="v2-processed image"> Operational fusion power would put most other forms of electricity generation permanently out of business and <a class="externalLink" href="http://dailycaller.com/2015/12/17/germany-tests-fusion-reactor-but-will-abandon-nuclear-by-2022/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">could occur very soon</a>. Fusion power could be “<a class="externalLink" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qBqbr8uV9c8C&pg=PA32&ots=X_NiY853vH&dq=strauss+son+cheap+meter&sig=NJRVHP66IqtX80mgp38UfttAIPc#v=onepage&q=strauss%20son%20cheap%20meter&f=false" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">too cheap to meter</a>,” meaning that the cost of generating new power would be below the cost of determining how much power an individual was using, effectively making electricity generation free.<br /> <br /> Other recent <a class="externalLink" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlYClniDFkM" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">breakthroughs in fusion</a> could restart the atomic age, an era when nuclear progress was lauded as a pinnacle of human achievement.<br /> <br /> Lockheed Martin Skunk Works <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.pppl.gov/events/colloquium-lockheed-martin-compact-fusion-reactor" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">is developing a compact fusion reactor</a> small enough to fit in a truck and would generate enough electricity to power 80,000 homes.<br /> <br /> An American research team in January discovered a way to initiate nuclear fusion reactions in a process called “fast ignition” using a high-intensity laser, <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/uoc--swe011416.php" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>. Scientists believe that “fast ignition” <a class="externalLink" href="http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphys3614.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">could allow a fusion reaction to be controlled</a>, because it requires less “start-up” energy than other methods.</div> <br /> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="460" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UlYClniDFkM" width="660"></iframe>  <br /> <br /> <br /></div>

China Claims Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough, No Specifics

Atom molecule in female hand (Shutterstock/ Sergey Nivens) ANDREW FOLLETT Energy and Science Reporter   China’s state-controlled TV...

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The World in Achieving 102 Seconds of Nuclear Fusion

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhseMLvFdCtwLidrPodLABgal0svhhM9L5aEi3mkWkLxZfXtXkqkky4cKbosPgLDV4IgIPLA9-iC9yrW838hx-VJNDjdORAp8VULKTyLuDGFc6t1DPS763WjDiejomY-9yladfOB8gjD5s/s1600/chinas-east-tokamak-nuclear-fusion-device.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhseMLvFdCtwLidrPodLABgal0svhhM9L5aEi3mkWkLxZfXtXkqkky4cKbosPgLDV4IgIPLA9-iC9yrW838hx-VJNDjdORAp8VULKTyLuDGFc6t1DPS763WjDiejomY-9yladfOB8gjD5s/s640/chinas-east-tokamak-nuclear-fusion-device.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tokamak nuclear fusion device.<br /> In a doughnut-shaped chamber in eastern China, scientists have been able to produce hydrogen gas more than three times hotter than the core of the Sun using nuclear fusion - and maintain this temperature for 102 seconds. </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="panel-pane pane-entity-field pane-node-field-images pane-first pos-0"> <div class="pane-content"> <div class="scmp_gallery galleryview scmp_gallery-simple gallery-processed" id="scmp_gallery" style="position: relative;"> <div class="gallery-caption" style="width: 486px;"> <div class="caption-inner"> <img alt="Chinese scientists were able to heat plasma to three times the temperature of the core of our sun for a record-breaking 102 seconds as they progressed the search to derive energy from nuclear fusion. Photo: Wikipedia" class="lazyload-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://cdn4.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486x302/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/b4003ec4-cbc7-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_1280x720.jpg?itok=p6um_S9K" height="396" src="http://cdn4.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486x302/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/b4003ec4-cbc7-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_1280x720.jpg?itok=p6um_S9K" title="Chinese scientists were able to heat plasma to three times the temperature of the core of our sun for a record-breaking 102 seconds as they progressed the search to derive energy from nuclear fusion. Photo: Wikipedia" width="640" /></div> </div> </div> <div class="scmp_gallery galleryview scmp_gallery-simple gallery-processed" id="scmp_gallery" style="position: relative;"> <div class="gallery-caption" style="width: 486px;"> <div class="caption-inner"> <br /></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <br /> The breakthrough puts China one step ahead in the global race to harness a new, artificial kind of solar energy for clean and unlimited energy, the researchers claim. This has become a pressing concern as more of the earth’s natural reserves are rapidly depleting.<br /> The experiment was conducted last week on a magnetic fusion reactor at the Institute of Physical Science in Hefei, capital of Jiangsu province, according to a statement on the institute’s website on Wednesday.<br />   <br /> The reactor, officially known as the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), was able to heat a hydrogen gas - a hot ionised gas called a plasma - to about 50 million Kelvins (49.999 million degrees Celsius). The interior of our sun is calculated to be around 15 million Kelvins.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img class="caption align-left c1 lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/58337a9a-cb20-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_486x.jpg?itok=4PaWZ2Ja" height="355" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/58337a9a-cb20-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_486x.jpg?itok=4PaWZ2Ja" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Chinese scientists came a step closer to creating an artificial sun by heating hydrogen gas to 50 million Kelvins for a record time. Photo: Hefei Institute of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences" width="400" /></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-left" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: left; width: 486px;"><span class="image-caption" style="display: block;">A step closer to creating an artificial sun by heating </span><span class="image-caption" style="display: block;"></span><span class="image-caption" style="display: block;"> hydrogen gas to 50 million Kelvins for a record time. Photo: Hefei Institute of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences</span></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />  According to this thermodynamic scale, absolute zero occurs at zero degrees (equivalent to minus 273.15 degrees Celsius), a point at which all molecular movement stops.<br /> The temperature reached in Hefei was at the other end of the scale, and roughly the same as a mid-sized thermonuclear explosion. The goal of the experiment was to approximate the nuclear fusion conditions that occur deep inside the sun.<br /> <br /> Although at least <a href="http://www.livescience.com/614-record-set-hottest-temperature-earth-3-6-billion-degrees-lab.html" shape="rect">one other experiment</a> in the last decade claims to have produced a hotter temperatures than this, it has never been duplicated and was unable to match the endurance - over one and a half minutes - of the Chinese test.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, physicists in Japan and Europe have been able to reach the same temperature as the Chinese team, but not for longer than a minute due to concerns of provoking a reactor meltdown.<br /> The EAST was invented by Soviet scientists to control nuclear fusion for power generation.<br /> <br /> <span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-left" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: left; width: 486px;"><img class="caption align-left c1 lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/5d030310-cb20-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_486x.jpg?itok=NJLjABw8" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/5d030310-cb20-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_486x.jpg?itok=NJLjABw8" style="height: 365px; width: 486px;" title="The EAST tokomak device in Hefei. In order to ‘fuse’ two hydrogen atoms to produce energy, it needs to heat the hydrogen plasma for 100 million Kelvins. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences" /><span class="image-caption" style="display: block;">The EAST tokomak device in Hefei. In order to ‘fuse’ two hydrogen atoms to produce energy, it needs to heat the hydrogen plasma for 100 million Kelvins. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences</span></span><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> As a tokamak device, it uses a powerful magnetic field to confine plasma in the shape of a torus - imagine a large spinning doughnut -for safety reasons due to the phenomenally high temperatures being generated. The atoms are effectively held floating in place by superconducting magnets.<br /> But controlling hydrogen gas in such a hot and volatile state is a formidable challenge, and one that most of the tokomak devices built over the last 60 years have not been able to sustain for more than 20 seconds.<br /> <br /> The scientists in Hefei worked “day and night” to achieve the record level of endurance, according to the institute, which serves as a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.<br /> The team claimed to have solved a number of scientific and engineering problems, such as precisely controlling the alignment of the magnet, and managing to capture the high-energy particles and heat escaping from the “doughnut”.<br /> <br /> <a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image init-colorbox-processed-processed cboxElement" href="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980w/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/5fc20704-cb20-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_image_hires.jpg?itok=bTqPx3k_" rel="gallery-131ba826-cb14-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1"><span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-left" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: left; width: 486px;"><img class="caption align-left c1 lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/5fc20704-cb20-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_486x.jpg?itok=dezs-o6z" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/5fc20704-cb20-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_486x.jpg?itok=dezs-o6z" style="height: 354px; width: 486px;" title="Inside the ‘doughnut’ (EAST). The metallic walls cannot come into direct contact with the plasma or it will melt or evaporate immediately. The scientists used a powerful magnetic field to keep the hot hydrogen gas suspended in place. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences" /><span style="color: black;"><span class="image-caption" style="display: block;">Inside the ‘doughnut’ (EAST). The metallic walls cannot come into direct contact with the plasma or it will melt or evaporate immediately. The scientists used a powerful magnetic field to keep the hot hydrogen gas suspended in place. Photo: Chinese Academy of Sciences</span></span></span></a><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> But they still missed their mark, which was to reach 100 million Kelvins for over 1,000 seconds (nearly 17 minutes), they said, adding that it would still take years to build a commercially viable plant that could operate in a stable manner for several decades.<br /> Unlike the process of nuclear fission that fuels thermal power stations around the world today by splitting the atoms of fissile materials such as uranium, fusion reactions work by “fusing” two light atomic nuclei - for example, two hydrogen atoms - together to release a huge amount of heat.<br /> This can produce levels of energy three to four times greater than the results of nuclear fission. It also generate almost no radioactive waste.<br /> <br /> The problem is the amount of heat created. Whereas nuclear fission only generates a few hundred degrees Celsius, fusion requires at least 100 million degrees Celsius (212 million degrees Fahrenheit).<br /> A researcher involved with the EAST project said data from their experiment may be of use to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) that is now under construction in France.<br /> <br /> <span class="image-caption-container image-caption-container-left" style="clear: none; display: inline-block; float: left; width: 486px;"><img class="caption align-left c1 lazyload-processed magic-processed loaded" data-ignore="true" data-original="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/313b3520-cbc7-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_486x.jpg?itok=tmRdcgvp" src="http://www.scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/486w/public/images/methode/2016/02/05/313b3520-cbc7-11e5-9c95-074a8ff7bdd1_486x.jpg?itok=tmRdcgvp" title="A colourised computer image shows the moment the first superhot plasma was created in a separate experiment at the Wendelstein 7-X nuclear fusion research centre at the Max-Planck-Institut for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, Germany in December. Photo: EPA" /><span class="image-caption" style="display: block;">A colourised computer image shows the moment the first superhot plasma was created in a separate experiment at the Wendelstein 7-X nuclear fusion research centre at the Max-Planck-Institut for Plasma Physics (IPP) in Greifswald, Germany in December. Photo: EPA</span></span><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Meanwhile, another 1-billion-euro (US$1.12 billion) project in Germany dubbed the “stellarator” claimed last December to have achieved another milestone in the nuclear fusion quest by heating plasma to around 1 million degrees Celsius for one-tenth of a second. <i>SCMP</i><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <b>MARS Has Water, Atmosphere?</b> <br /> <br /> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="460" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c2_fvWFhMmM" width="660"></iframe> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <b>NASA Admits to Unknown Objects In Space</b><br /> They have tried to chase them but have failed to catch them. This video is from June 17 2007 <br /> <br /> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="460" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qycsb3mrTdc" width="660"></iframe> <br /> <br /> <br /></div>

The World in Achieving 102 Seconds of Nuclear Fusion

Tokamak nuclear fusion device. In a doughnut-shaped chamber in eastern China, scientists have been able to produce hydrogen gas more th...

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