China’s artificial sun: A step closer to limitless energy

Updated Jan. 28, 2025, 6:20 a.m. | By East Coast Breakfast / Skyye Ndlovu

China’s artificial sun just broke its own record, bringing us a step closer to a world with limitless energy.

Imagine a world where energy is clean and limitless. No emissions, no hazardous waste, no fossil fuel drama. Now imagine all of this powered by something hotter than the sun's core. Sounds like sci-fi, right? Well, say hello to China’s artificial sun.

Officially named the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), this nuclear fusion reactor just set a scorching new record: it maintained a plasma loop for an astonishing 1,066 seconds – just over 17 minutes – at temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees Celsius. That’s seven times hotter than the sun’s core.

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Nuclear fusion is what powers the real sun. It’s the process of smashing two atomic nuclei together, which releases an enormous amount of energy.

Unlike nuclear fission, fusion doesn’t come with the risk of a catastrophic meltdown. Fusion is the clean energy dream. The “holy grail”, as scientists call it.

China’s artificial sun smashed its previous record of 403 seconds thanks to some serious upgrades. The heating system’s power output was doubled.

It's kind of like upgrading your microwave from a standard 1,000 watts to the equivalent of 140,000 microwaves.

For this to work, researchers have to maintain temperatures of over 100 million degrees Celsius and keep the whole process stable for as long as possible. Sounds easy, right? Spoiler alert: it’s not.

Professor Song Yuntao, director of the project, explained that for fusion to work in a real-world power plant, reactors need to operate efficiently and stably for thousands of seconds.

EAST’s record-breaking run is a critical step towards that goal. If fusion becomes a viable energy source, it could revolutionise the world.

Fusion could generate electricity without greenhouse gas emissions or reliance on depleting fossil fuel reserves.

Fusion energy could also transform space travel. Rockets powered by fusion reactors would have stronger propulsion, making deep-space exploration more realistic than ever before.

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While China’s achievement is monumental, there are still major challenges to overcome.

However, the breakthroughs at EAST bring us one step closer to a future where clean, limitless energy isn’t just a possibility – it’s a reality.

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