China’s Advanced TOKAMAK Experiment: Challenges & Solutions

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In summary, the article claims that China has built an experimental superconductive TOKAMAK that is set to exceed any other country on the planet if the experiment succeeds. However, I doubt that this is actually true, as the article does not mention any specifics about the apparatus or its capabilities.
  • #1
chaoszen
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I recently read from newspapers that china has built a experimental advanced superconductive TOKAMAK , and such an experiment is going to set about. It also mentioned if the experiment exceeded, China would be the first country on the planet owing such a experimental equipment.I just roughly translate the article to english, of course the article didn't mention the detail of this apparatus which costs "only" 40 million US dollars.
As a skeptic,I really doubt how advanced this experiment is.It seems that it's designed basing upon the principle of controlled nuclear fusion of TOKAMAK, which had been the focus of fusion research quite long ago.
so here I eagerly yearn to know what's the problem encountered by researchers when applying TOKAMAK equipment to trigger fusion reaction.AND is there a road through these barriers?
 
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  • #2
good question...
 
  • #3
The Tokamak (Toroidal Chamber) concept has been the main approach with respect to magnetic confinement systems, as opposed to inertial confinement.

The major problem has been one of heating the plasma to high enough temperatures to initiate and sustain the fusion reaction, while confining the plasma for sufficient time to allow more energy to be produced from the fusion reaction than is put into heating the plasma. The magnetic fields must be strong enough to contain the plasma in a stable configuration, and the pressure imposed by the magnetic field is proportional to B2.

Then there are other technical issues related to materials integrity and power conversion.

I doubt that the Chinese were able to manufacture a reasonable Tokamak for $40 million.
 
  • #4
Here is a video of Tokamak.


http://www.jet.efda.org/pages/content/fusion2.html [Broken]
 
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  • #5
I thought Japan had Tokamak reactors for a while now..
 
  • #6
They have, but it is not just them that have them. I think Russia has a few as well. Also, the page ludi_srbin linked should have information on Europe Tokamaks [JET - Joint European Torus].
 
  • #7
For Japanese program, please see -

Fusion Plasma Research Program
Naka Fusion Institute
Japanese Atomic Energy Agency

JT-60 Homepage - http://www-jt60.naka.jaea.go.jp/HOME.html [Broken]

JFT-2 Page - http://www-jt60.naka.jaea.go.jp/english/jft2m/html/jft2m.html [Broken]

Some background on Tokamaks - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokamak
 
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  • #8
chaoszen said:
I recently read from newspapers that china has built a experimental advanced superconductive TOKAMAK , and such an experiment is going to set about. It also mentioned if the experiment exceeded, China would be the first country on the planet owing such a experimental equipment.I just roughly translate the article to english, of course the article didn't mention the detail of this apparatus which costs "only" 40 million US dollars.
As a skeptic,I really doubt how advanced this experiment is.It seems that it's designed basing upon the principle of controlled nuclear fusion of TOKAMAK, which had been the focus of fusion research quite long ago.
so here I eagerly yearn to know what's the problem encountered by researchers when applying TOKAMAK equipment to trigger fusion reaction.AND is there a road through these barriers?

I read this article a while ago and we have a professor here who has some ties to this reactor. The $40 million is for an upgrade to the HT-7 tokamak, not for a new machine. The article was quite misleading about this. IIRC, the upgrade is to install superconducting poloidal field coils. HT-7 is a medium-sized limiter machine with a major radius of 1.22 m and a minor radius of 27 cm. I doubt that this machine will be performing any D-T fusion. It is been upgraded several times, and was originally in Russia under the name T-7.
 
  • #9
ludi_srbin said:
Here is a video of Tokamak. http://www.jet.efda.org/pages/content/fusion2.html [Broken]

I wonder what that was filmed with. I know that NSTX has a camera that was built by the Princeton Scientific Instruments that can record at 1 million frames per second. :eek:

Here are some more videos from NSTX. These aren't with the "super camera", but are with another one of their other fast cameras that can record 1000 frames per second.
 
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  • #10
Geoff St. Germaine said:
HT-7 is a medium-sized limiter machine with a major radius of 1.22 m and a minor radius of 27 cm. QUOTE]
Seemingly much smaller than I thought
Maybe it has a longway to go to be able to achieve the 3 conditions.
 
  • #11
chaoszen said:
Seemingly much smaller than I thought
Maybe it has a longway to go to be able to achieve the 3 conditions.

AFAIK, JT-60U has the has the record for the highest fusion triple product, the record for the highest central ion temperature and the record for the largest equivalent Q (1.25). The other machine close to JT-60U is JET, both of which are considerably larger than HT-7.
 

1. What is China’s Advanced TOKAMAK Experiment (EAST)?

The China’s Advanced TOKAMAK Experiment (EAST) is a magnetic confinement fusion device, also known as a tokamak, located at the Institute of Plasma Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is designed to study the plasma physics and develop advanced plasma control techniques for future fusion reactors.

2. What are the challenges faced by EAST?

The main challenges faced by EAST include achieving and maintaining high enough temperatures and densities in the plasma, controlling and stabilizing the plasma to prevent disruptions, and managing the large amount of heat and energy produced by the fusion reactions.

3. How does EAST address these challenges?

EAST has several unique features and control systems that help address these challenges. These include its advanced superconducting magnets, a sophisticated plasma control system, and a divertor system that removes excess heat and particles from the plasma.

4. What are the solutions proposed by EAST?

EAST aims to develop solutions to these challenges through advanced plasma control techniques, such as feedback control and real-time optimization, and by testing new materials and technologies for fusion reactors. Additionally, EAST is collaborating with other tokamaks and fusion research projects to share knowledge and resources.

5. What are the potential implications of EAST’s research?

The research conducted at EAST has the potential to significantly advance the development of fusion energy, which could provide a clean, safe, and virtually limitless source of energy for the future. It could also lead to breakthroughs in plasma physics and materials science, with applications in other fields such as space propulsion and medical diagnostics.

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