The Hefei Institutes of Physical Science in China has set a world record for maintaining a stable state of high concentration plasma. This is necessary to create a fusion reactor, The Register writes.
The operation was performed on an experimental superconducting tokamak that maintained operation for 1066 seconds, almost 18 minutes. The previous record was 403 seconds.
Tokamaks are special tanks in the shape of a torus (donut). The gas inside the tokamak is heated under enormous pressure, turning into plasma. Due to the extremely high temperature, the plasma must not come into contact with the walls of the tank, so it is held in place by magnets.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the energy produced by fusion is four times higher than the energy output from nuclear fission used in modern nuclear power plants and almost four million times higher than the energy obtained from burning fossil fuels such as oil or coal.
Thermonuclear fusion is constantly happening on and inside the Sun, which has enough energy and gravity.
Creating plasma on Earth requires enormous energy expenditures, and until recently, it was difficult to confirm whether tokamaks could generate more energy than they spend on its production.
The report from the Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences makes no mention of how much heat was generated by the prolonged burning of the plasma, or whether a net energy gain was possible. There was also no mention of what fuel was used to produce the plasma, which is an important fact.
However, the experiment is described as an event of "monumental significance" and "a critical step toward the realization of a functional fusion reactor."