In recent years, developed countries have been increasingly active in developing new renewable energy sources from nuclear fusion reactors. China is the most aggressive in developing this technology, which is called the artificial sun. They even created an artificial Moon.
Nuclear fusion reactors are designed to mimic fusion reactions like the Sun using hydrogen and deuterium gas as fuel. Fusion energy is considered the ideal "ultimate energy" for a carbon neutral energy future because hydrogen and deuterium gases are abundant in the ocean.
The following is a summary of artificial Sun and Moon technology throughout 2022.
The sun made in China sets a record
China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) fusion energy reactor set a world record in January 2022. The sun made in China lasted 1,056 seconds at high plasma temperatures, the longest duration for such a fusion energy reactor so far.
Previously in May 2021, EAST set a record for running for 101 seconds at a temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius. This new record was reached after a team of scientists announced that a new round of testing would be carried out by the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP).
The institute, which is located in Hefei, Anhui Province, east China, has supplied electricity more than 10,000 times since the inauguration of phase II of EAST in 2011.
China creates artificial moon
Apart from continuing to develop the capabilities of the EAST fusion energy reactor, Chinese scientists are also creating an artificial Moon. Unlike the artificial sun which was created for new renewable energy sources, artificial moon technology is used for research purposes, to simulate a low gravity environment.
The artificial moon is in an airtight chamber, with a diameter of 60cm. The real Moon is 3,474 kilometers in diameter.
The conditions are made as similar as possible to the conditions of the Moon, both rocks and dust. In addition, there is also a magnetic field strong enough to lift small objects such as beans or frogs.
This artificial Moon facility allows scientists to test equipment in an environment similar to the Moon so that when built later it can minimize errors.
The world's largest artificial sun breaks a record
Not only China is developing an artificial sun. The Joint European Torus (JET) tokamak experiment taking place in England set a new record for the power generated by a jet of hot plasma.
The circular tokamak reactor, shaped like a donut, reaches 59 megajoules of energy. This is a new high for reactors that require enormous energy to reach operational speed.
JET is part of the Culham Center for Fusion Energy outside Oxford, England. The center is the UK's national laboratory for nuclear fusion research, formerly known as UKAEA (U.K. Atomic Energy Authority) Culham.
Matahari made in South Korea also set a record
South Korea has also successfully carried out stable and sustainable nuclear fusion experiments. South Korea's artificial sun reaches a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius and can last for 30 seconds in September 2022.
The South Korean team of scientists used a modified edge transport barrier technique on the Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) device to achieve a much lower plasma density. Their approach appears to be increasing the temperature in the plasma core and lowering it at the edges, which will probably extend the life of the reactor components.