Chinese scientists plan to test fire the world's most powerful experimental fusion reactor hoping its fuel will reach a critical mass of 100 million degrees Celsius and begin to give off more energy than it consumes. Unlike traditional fission nuclear reactors, which split atoms to create energy and cast off dangerous radioactive waste, fusion reactors emulate nuclear reactions of the sun and are pollution free. A viable fusion reactor would be a panacea for the world's energy woes, as its fuel, Deuterium, is a hydrogen isotope which can be collected from seawater.
The EAST experiment will attempt to create a super heated plasma through a process using huge annular electromagnetic fields. Wan and his colleagues hope to heat the fuel to 100,000 degrees Celsius and then control the resulting plasma at a temperature of 100 million Celsius degrees. Wan says at that temperature the plasma, which is neither a gas, a liquid nor a solid, should begin to give off its own energy. If the experiment lasts the planned 1,000 seconds (more than 16 minutes)EAST, which is located near the city of Hefei, in central China's Anhui province, will hold the record for the world's longest fusion burn.
Here's the link to the story, I'll try to post something on how the test goes later.
http://english.people.com.cn/200607/26/eng20060726 _286956.html
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