Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak

Shashank Raj Gupta
Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak

Question: In which of the following country, the Experimental advanced superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor is located?
a) USA
b) Japan
c) China
d) India
Answer: (c)
Related Facts:-

  • On 4 June 2021; the latest experiment performed by Experimental advanced superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor.
  • EAST which is also known as Chinese artificial sun set a new world record of achieving a plasma temperature of 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds.
  • This successful experiment is being considered as a key step toward the test running of a fusion reactor.
  • Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor is an advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device.
  • EAST is located at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP) in Hefei, China.
  • The breakthrough was announced by Gong Xianzu, a researcher at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ASIPP).
  • Gong Xianzu is in charge of the experiment conducted in Hefei, capital of east China’s Anhui Province.
  • The Chinese artificial sun or the EAST also realized a plasma temperature of 160 million degrees Celsius, lasting for 20 seconds.
  • The ultimate goal of EAST, located at ASIPP in Hefei, is to create nuclear fusion like the Sun.
  • Deuterium abound in the sea has been used in this experiment to provide a steady stream of clean energy.
  • It is estimated that the deuterium in one liter of seawater can produce, through fusion reaction, the amount of energy equivalent to 300 liters of gasoline.
  • Around 300 scientists and engineers mobilized to support the operation of the doughnut-shaped experiment facility.
  • Experiment facility includes a vacuum system, RF wave system, laser scattering system, and microwave system.
  • Preparation and upgrading work for the experiment started about a year ago, the institute said.
  • It’s a huge achievement in China’s physics and engineering fields.
  • The experiment’s success lays the foundation for China to build its own nuclear fusion energy station,
  • Raw materials required for the artificial sun are almost unlimited on earth.
  • Nuclear Fusion Energy Stations have great advantage s fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, which are in danger of being exhausted and pose a threat to the environment.
  • Therefore, fusion energy is considered the ideal ultimate energy with the potential to help China realize carbon neutrality.
  • Fusion energy, one of the greatest frontiers of today’s physics, requires not only top scientific research ability but also massive experimental instruments.

Links:-
http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-05/28/c_139975997_2.htm