China has built a 582-ton giant magnet to help its 'Artificial Sun' confine plasma hotter than 100 million°C

China has achieved a major milestone in its pursuit of commercial nuclear fusion by completing the construction and testing of a colossal 582-ton superconducting magnet designed for its next-generation "Artificial Sun" programme, according to Xinhua News Agency. Measuring 21 metres in length, the toroidal-field magnet is the largest of its kind ever built for a controlled fusion reactor. Developed by the Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Hefei, the magnet is designed to confine plasma heated to more than 100 million degrees Celsius, a temperature around six times hotter than the Sun's core. According to the project's roadmap, the breakthrough is expected to support China's long-term goal of demonstrating electricity generation from controlled nuclear fusion around 2030.The giant magnet powering China's next-generation 'Artificial Sun'The newly completed magnet is a toroidal-field (TF) superconducting magnet, one of the most critical components of a tokamak fusion reactor. Weighing 582 metric tons and stretching 21 metres long, it is larger than any comparable magnet built for a fusion facility.The magnet was developed for China's Burning P...