Researchers from Europe are developing a nuclear fusion reactor similar to that developed by China. When completed, it will become an artificial sun on Earth.
Researchers from the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) have delivered the first pieces of massive magnets for a fusion nuclear power reactor they are planning to build in Saint-Paul-Lez-Durance, France.
The first part of this giant magnet is said to have a magnetic field strength that is said to be able to lift an airplane.
When finished assembled, this giant magnet will measure almost 20 meters and 4 meters high. This magnet is a crucial part for 35 countries to build the nuclear fusion reactor that will become the artificial Sun on Earth.
Separately, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US and a private company announced they had succeeded in developing a high-temperature superconducting magnet that is said to be able to bypass ITER technology to create the Sun on Earth.
This Artificial Sun was developed using nuclear fusion technology which is different from fission nuclear which is widely used today. Nuclear fusion technology is said to be more environmentally friendly than fission nuclear technology which produces radioactive waste.
In addition to producing cleaner energy, fusion nuclear reactors also offer an almost unlimited supply of energy. The problem is, the development of this energy is very difficult. Researchers have been trying to develop it for more than a century and have yet to get any significant results.
For comparison, South Korea managed to turn on the Artificial Sun for 20 seconds with temperatures reaching 100 million degrees Celsius.
While China's Man-made Sun has now managed to hold a plasma of 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds.
In addition to only being able to glow for a short time, researchers are also looking for ways to make energy efficient for powering the plasma used to create this fusion nuclear energy.
Because, in order to create a fusion reaction like what happens in the sun on Earth, hydrogen isotopes must be placed inside the fusion device to create a plasma state that separates the ions and electrons. To separate these two particles, the ions must be heated and maintained at a high temperature.
