China tests giant fusion magnet

China has successfully tested the world’s largest fusion magnet weighing 582 tons marking a major step toward developing an “artificial sun.”

The technology aims to produce clean safe and nearly unlimited energy through nuclear fusion in the future.

The giant D-shaped superconducting magnet was developed by the Institute of Plasma Physics under the Chinese

Academy of Sciences. It is designed to control extremely hot plasma using powerful magnetic fields which is one of the most important parts of the nuclear fusion process.

The magnet measures 21 meters long and 12 meters wide and has been built for the world’s largest fusion reactor.

Reports say it is about 1.3 times larger than a similar magnet used in an international fusion project and can store three times more energy.

It is capable of containing plasma at temperatures of up to 100 million degrees Celsius allowing scientists to recreate the same fusion process that powers the Sun.

Chinese officials said most of the materials and manufacturing were completed within China reducing the country’s reliance on foreign technology and supplies.

China hopes to generate electricity from fusion energy by around 2030.

Scientists say an “artificial sun” is a nuclear fusion reactor that copies the natural process used by the Sun to produce energy.

If successful this technology could provide the world with a reliable source of clean and almost unlimited electricity in the future.