The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), internal designation HT-7U (Hefei Tokamak 7 Upgrade), is an experimental

superconducting Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in certain materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic flux fields are expelled from the material. Any material exhibiting these properties is a superconductor. Unlike ...

tokamak A tokamak (; russian: токамáк; otk, 𐱃𐰸𐰢𐰴, Toḳamaḳ) is a device which uses a powerful magnetic field to confine plasma in the shape of a torus. The tokamak is one of several types of magnetic confinement devices being ...

magnetic fusion energy Magnetic confinement fusion is an approach to generate thermonuclear fusion power that uses magnetic fields to confine fusion fuel in the form of a plasma. Magnetic confinement is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, along with ...

reactor in

Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...

, China. The Hefei Institutes of Physical Science is conducting the experiment for the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); ), known by Academia Sinica in English until the 1980s, is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for natural sciences. It has historical origins in the Academia Sinica during the Republi ...

. It has operated since 2006. It is the first tokamak to employ superconducting toroidal and poloidal magnets. It aims for plasma pulses of up to 1,000 seconds. Since China is a member of the international

ITER ITER (initially the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ''iter'' meaning "the way" or "the path" in Latin) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at creating energy by replicating, on Ear ...

project, it is hoped that EAST will provide new impetus for its further development.

History

EAST followed China's first superconducting tokamak device, dubbed

HT-7 HT-7, or Hefei Tokamak-7, is an experimental superconducting tokamak nuclear fusion reactor built in Hefei, China, to investigate the process of developing fusion power. The HT-7 was developed with the assistance of Russia, and was based on the ...

, built by the Institute of Plasma Physics in partnership with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

in the early 1990s. The project was proposed in 1996 and approved in 1998. According to a 2003 schedule, buildings and site facilities were to be constructed by 2003. Tokamak assembly was to take place from 2003 through 2005. Construction was completed in March 2006 and on September 28, 2006, "first plasma" was achieved. According to official reports, the project's budget is

CNY The renminbi (; symbol: ¥; ISO code: CNY; abbreviation: RMB) is the official currency of the People's Republic of China and one of the world's most traded currencies, ranking as the fifth most traded currency in the world as of April 2022 ...

¥300 million (approximately US$37 million), some 1/15 to 1/20 the cost of a comparable reactor built in other countries.

Phase I

On September 28, 2006, first plasma was achieved—the first test lasted nearly three seconds, and generated an electric current of 200 kiloamperes. By Jan 2007 "the reactor created a plasma lasting nearly five seconds and generating an electric current of 500 kilo amperes". On November 7, 2010, EAST achieved its first

H-mode High-confinement mode, or H-mode, is an operating mode possible in toroidal magnetic confinement fusion devices mostly tokamaks, but also in stellarators.H-mode High-confinement mode, or H-mode, is an operating mode possible in toroidal magnetic confinement fusion devices mostly tokamaks, but also in stellarators.ITER ITER (initially the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, ''iter'' meaning "the way" or "the path" in Latin) is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject aimed at creating energy by replicating, on Ear ...

consortium, and EAST is a testbed for ITER technologies. EAST was designed to test: *

Superconducting Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in certain materials where electrical resistance vanishes and magnetic flux fields are expelled from the material. Any material exhibiting these properties is a superconductor. Unlike ...

Niobium-titanium poloidal field

magnets A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel ...

, making it the first tokamak with superconducting toroidal and poloidal magnets * Non-inductive current drive * Pulses of up to 102 seconds with 0.5 MA plasma current * Schemes for controlling plasma instabilities through real-time diagnostics * Materials for diverters and plasma facing components * Operation with ''β''_N = 2 and confinement factor ''H''₈₉ > 2

Tokamak parameters

References

External links

* - Official website of EAST Fusion Facility - Chinese Academy of Science
People's Daily article

- Note that EAST is not the "world's first experimental nuclear fusion device".

{{coords, 31.91174, 117.14682, display=title Tokamaks Buildings and structures in Hefei Nuclear power in China ur:مصنوعی سورج

History

Phase I

Tokamak parameters

See also

References

External links