The device which was based at the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has broken the previous record of maintaining a plasma temperature of 100million degrees Celsius for 100 seconds.

The EAST has a number of ‘artificial sun’ devices who are currently under construction as the countries race to secure the top position in producing a reliable nuclear fusion reactor. The success of tests encouraged China to take another step forward towards being able to generate unlimited clean energy through nuclear fusion-a goal that was widely the holy grail of sustainable energy-after first powering up the device six months ago.

By retaining a peak temperature of 160 million degrees the EAST device has appeared to be now capable of generating temperatures more than 10 times as hot as the surface of the sun which burns at roughly 15 million degrees Celsius. Speaking to The Global Times China’s state -run newspaper Li Miao Director of the Physics department of the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen has mentioned that the next goal could see scientists attempt to run the device at a consistent temperature for as long as a whole week. He has also stated that the breakthrough was significant progress and the ultimate goal would be keeping the temperature at a stable level.

The latest test has smashed previous records set by the same device and South Korea’s own artificial sun the Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR)which had been running at 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds last December.

The EAST artificial sun has been a part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor-the largest global scientific co-operation effort since the development of the International Space Station for three decades now.

The Global Times has reported that the reactor has been developed by China the EU India Japan South Korea Russia and the US. China has been funding roughly 9% of its research and development. If the device continues advancing at the current rate experts believe that a successful nuclear fusion could be achieved within the next 30 days. The International Atomic Energy Agency has currently been working towards a goal of holding a plasma temperature of 100 million degrees for 300 seconds by 2025.

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