China’s “Artificial Sun” Breaks Record for Longest Ever Sustained Reaction
Nuclear fusion is the pinnacle of human engineering. A promise of virtually unlimited clean energy has led the world’s most advanced institutions on the hunt for a sustainable nuclear furnace capable of producing energy.
In the latest development of this technological saga, China has just claimed to achieve the longest ever sustained nuclear fusion recorded by Mankind. The transformation of nuclear fusion into a useable source of energy is notorious for its brutally slow development speed, and every new advancement is eagery reported on by the scientific community; so although China’s recent “breakthrough” is a respectable feat, what does this development actually mean for the continued advancement of nuclear fusion?
Longest Sustained Fusion
In order to understand the magnitude (or lack thereof) of China’s latest feat, you must first understand the core issue facing nuclear fusion’s development.
To put it simply: it costs more energy to sustain fusion than what is produced.
