The energy sector has always been one of the focal points of global technological competition. In this field, research on the use of nuclear fusion technology to generate energy has been attracting attention.
The All-Superconducting Tokamak Nuclear Fusion Experimental Facility (EAST) is one of the main experimental devices for nuclear fusion technology research on the mainland. At present, EAST has conducted about 120,000 experiments and has successfully achieved 403 seconds of steady-state high-confinement mode plasma operation, once again setting a new world record.
This is a major technological breakthrough, which means that China has made great progress in the field of controlled nuclear fusion technology, and the achievement of this achievement is of great significance for the future development of the mainland in the energy field.
Nuclear fusion is the fusion of light elements into heavier elements such as helium, releasing large amounts of energy. It is also the source of energy for the Sun and other stars. It is not difficult to achieve nuclear fusion, for example, the huge amount of energy released by hydrogen bombs comes from nuclear fusion. But to harness fusion energy, it must be manageable.
However, controlled fusion technology has always been a huge challenge because it requires a high-temperature and high-pressure environment to carry out fusion reactions. This requires a very high level of technology, and scientists need to take into account many factors, such as pressure, plasma density, electron temperature, ion temperature, magnetic field strength, and so on. Scientists must strike a fine balance between these factors for fusion reactions to take place.
To overcome this dilemma, scientists continue to try various methods.
At present, there are two main options for achieving controlled nuclear fusion:
1, inertial confinement nuclear fusion: the use of ultra-high-intensity laser to bombard the target in a very short time, representative engineering for the United States National Ignition Device (NIF).
2, magnetic confinement nuclear fusion: the use of strong magnetic field to confine the characteristics of charged particles, confinement them in a special magnetic container and heating to hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius high temperature to achieve fusion reaction, representing the project has the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Program (ITER). ITER is an international scientific cooperation project with seven countries and regions, including the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and India.
There are two main implementation schemes for magnetic confinement fusion, and there are two major types of representative devices, one is a tokamak device and the other is a stellar device.
Among them, the tokamak device is the most commonly used and is currently the most successful device for commercial application. Continental's fully superconducting tokamak nuclear fusion experimental device (EAST) is a very promising solution, which uses the super-strong magnetic field generated by superconducting technology to confine plasma temperatures up to hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius, and creates a high-temperature and high-pressure environment that allows nuclear fusion reactions to take place.
If controlled nuclear fusion technology can be applied, we can obtain a large amount of clean and renewable energy, and at the same time, we can avoid the use of fossil fuels, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, alleviate the problem of global warming, and effectively avoid the problems of energy shortage and environmental pollution.
Although the mainland has made many advances in the field of controlled fusion technology, there are still some challenges to this technology, which will require significant investment of financial and human resources, as well as continuous experimentation and research. At present, some countries such as Europe and the United States are also conducting similar research, and the mainland is facing great competitive pressure in this field.
But if nuclear fusion technology can be promoted and applied, it will greatly promote the development of human civilization. Therefore, Continental has been investing heavily in controlled fusion technology research to maintain its leading position, which is not only beneficial to its own energy development, but also contributes to the global energy transition.
In short, Continental EAST once again set a world record, proving Continental's strength and research results in controlled nuclear fusion technology. This is very good news for the future development of Continental in the energy sector. We hope that in the near future, controlled nuclear fusion can be widely used to replace traditional fossil fuels and nuclear fission power generation, and become one of the main forces of the global energy transition.