(EastDay, Sept 29, 2006) Chinese scientists yesterday conducted the country's first successful test of an experimental fusion reactor, powered by the process that fuels the sun, a research institute spokeswoman said.

China is pursuing fusion in hopes that it can become a clean, potentially limitless energy source. Fusion produces little radioactive waste, unlike fission, which powers conventional nuclear reactors.

The test was carried out by the Institute of Plasma Physics in Hefei, capital of eastern China's Anhui Province.

Cheng Yan, a spokeswoman at the institute, said the test was considered a success because the reactor produced plasma, a hot cloud of supercharged particles.

"This represents a step for humankind in the study of nuclear reaction," she said.

During the experiment, deuterium and tritium atoms were forced together at a temperature of 100 million Celsius in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak fusion reactor, called EAST for short.

"At that temperature, the superheated plasma, which is neither a gas, a liquid or a solid, should begin to give off its own energy," a scientist explained.

The first tests lasted nearly three seconds. Scientists plan for the device to eventually create a plasma blast lasting 1,000 consecutive seconds.

Li Jiangang, director of the Institute of Plasma Physics, said the results of the test met the expectations of scientists and signified a breakthrough in thermonuclear fusion research.

"That means we lead all our competitors by at least a decade," Li said. "The breakthrough will make it possible for mankind to harness a safe, clean and endless source of energy."

The data from the test will be submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference in Austria.

EAST is an upgrade of China's first-generation Tokamak device and the first of its kind in operation in the world, Chinese scientists said.

The Institute of Plasma Physics spent eight years and 200 million yuan (US$25 million) to build the experimental reactor.

The device, made with special stainless steel, is about 12 meters high and weighs 400 tons.

Compared with similar devices in other countries, EAST cost the least to build in terms of money and time, Li said.

The Chinese facility is similar to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor scheduled to be built by a seven-nation consortium in Cadarache in southern France. That reactor is due to be completed in 2015.

The partners in the French reactor are the European Union, the United States, Japan, China, Russia, India and South Korea.
source:EastDay