China’s experimental nuclear fusion tokamak achieves improved plasma confinement

The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in Heifi, China was able to sustain plasma in the H-mode confinement regime for over one minute.

In 2012 EAST physics experiment has created 32 seconds high binding mode world record. In recent years, EAST has completed the upgrade of auxiliary heating, tungsten divertor plasma physics, diagnosis system, overcome the problem of the key technology of heating and current drive, distributed parameter measurement, in-depth study and solve a series of problems of physical radio wave coupling, high confinement plasma stability control, under the condition of low momentum heating and current drive for transport, and laid a solid foundation for long pulse steady high confinement mode plasma.

The EAST fusion reactor is run by the Institute of Plasma Physics in Hefei, which aims for plasma pulses lasting up to 1,000 seconds.

Popular Science had reported in Fegruary, 2016 that the same experimental fusion reactor had managed to sustain plasma at temperatures of over 90 million degrees for 102 seconds, according to an article published in the South China Morning Post. The previous success was a different mode of plasma.

SOURCES- China Daily, Popular Science