Chinese scientists claim to have successfully obtained high-confinement plasma for a record of over one minute using the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Hefei.

EAST (internal designation HT-7U) is an experimental superconducting tokamak magnetic fusion energy reactor that replicates the energy-generating (or fusion) process of the sun.

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The Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, which operates HT-7U, describes the device as a non-circular advanced steady-state plasma experimental device. HT-7U is the first tokamak to employ superconducting toroidal and poloidal magnets.

Chinese media did not reveal the exact record length of time other than by using the phrase "over one minute."

If it is a new record, this means it would have broken the old record set in February 2016 of 102 seconds at 50 million Kelvin. The plasma current reached 400 kA and a density of about 2.4 x 1019/m3 with slowly increasing temperature.

During this experiment, sensors recorded the plasma's temperature at 50 million degrees Celsius (90 million degrees Fahrenheit). That's over three times hotter than the core of the sun, which is some 15 million degrees Celsius (27 million degrees Fahrenheit).

This plasma burn is a major step forward in fusion research, but Chinese scientists hope EAST will eventually be able to sustain plasma for 1,000 seconds at twice the current temperature.

Chinese media claim the new record will be key to the success of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), the largest international program dedicated to thermonuclear fusion experiments. It also marks a major step forward for fusion studies.

EAST attained it first record in 2012 when plasma in a similar environment was maintained for 32 seconds, breaking the world record at the time.

Since then, EAST has had its tungsten diverters and auxiliary heating system upgraded, allowing the device to create long-pulse, high-confinement plasma.

A tokamak such as EAST uses a powerful magnetic field to confine plasma in the shape of a torus. Achieving a stable plasma equilibrium requires magnetic field lines that move around the torus in a helical shape.

Such a helical field can be generated by adding a toroidal field (traveling around the torus in circles) and a poloidal field (traveling in circles orthogonal to the toroidal field).

TagsExperimental Advanced Superconducting Tokama, East, Hefei, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, HT-7U, plasma, fusion research