How Is the ‘Artificial Sun’ Becoming a Reality?The ‘artificial sun’ refers to devices that replicate the nuclear fusion process occurring inside the Sun, aiming to generate vast amounts of clean energy on Earth through controlled fusion reactions. Unlike conventional nuclear power plants that rely on fission, fusion offers abundant fuel (such as deuterium from seawater), minimal radioactive waste, and enhanced safety—making it a promising candidate for the ultimate clean energy source.Achieving controlled fusion requires heating hydrogen isotopes to over 100 million degrees Celsius to form a high-temperature plasma, which must then be confined using powerful magnetic fields to sustain stable fusion reactions. Major international efforts like the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project, along with China’s independently developed EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) and the planned CFETR (China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor), are steadily overcoming critical technical challenges related to plasma confinement duration, temperature, and stability.In 2021, EAST set a world record by maintaining plasma at 120 million degrees Celsius for 101 seconds. In 2023, it achieved another milestone by sustaining high-confinement plasma for 403 seconds—the longest duration globally. These breakthroughs demonstrate that the ‘artificial sun’ is transitioning from scientific imagination toward engineering reality. Although commercial deployment may still be decades away, humanity is drawing ever closer to the dream of virtually limitless, clean energy.
“人造太阳”何以照进现实？“人造太阳”是指通过可控核聚变技术，在地球上模拟太阳内部的核聚变反应，从而释放出巨大能量的装置。与传统核电站使用的核裂变不同，核聚变具有燃料丰富（如海水中的氘）、几乎无放射性废料、安全性高等优势，被视为未来清洁能源的终极解决方案。实现可控核聚变的关键在于将氢同位素加热至上亿摄氏度，形成高温等离子体，并利用强磁场将其约束在特定空间内，使其持续稳定地发生聚变反应。目前，国际热核聚变实验堆（ITER）项目以及中国自主建设的“东方超环”（EAST）和“中国聚变工程实验堆”（CFETR）等装置，正不断突破等离子体约束时间、温度和稳定性等关键技术瓶颈。2021年，EAST实现了1.2亿摄氏度下运行101秒的纪录；2023年又在高约束模式下维持等离子体403秒，创下世界新高。这些进展表明，“人造太阳”正从科学幻想逐步走向工程现实。尽管商业化应用仍需数十年，但人类距离“取之不尽、用之不竭”的清洁能源梦想已越来越近。
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