China's 'Artificial Sun' Set Record-Breaking Plasma Temperature at 120 Million °C

China's "artificial sun" set a new world record for plasma temperature by reaching 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds and 160 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.

The EAST Tokamak device was created to mimic nuclear fusion that occurs in the sun and stars. Nuclear fusion is a method of producing significant amounts of energy without producing a lot of waste. Nuclear fission, which involves splitting the nucleus of a heavy atom into two or more nuclei of lighter atoms, was formerly used to generate energy.

Fission or Fusion

While fission is a less time-consuming process, it produces significantly more nuclear waste. On the other hand, fusion, unlike fission, does not produce greenhouse gases and is thought to be a safer process with a decreased danger of mishaps. In addition, once perfected, nuclear fusion has the potential to offer endless clean energy at extremely cheap prices.

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