Chinese scientists claimed to have established a world record by superheating a plasma loop to temperatures five times higher than the sun, not too long ago. They now claim to have made a technological breakthrough with potential use in nuclear fusion reactors.
A pure and more powerful version of tungsten has been developed, which can be employed in kinetic energy weapons and nuclear fusion reactors, SCMP reported.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences in Hefei, Anhui province, claimed to have produced the strongest tungsten bulk material, saying that the manufacturing process will allow it to be employed in the most demanding applications.
Tungsten, one of the heaviest and hardest natural elements with the highest melting point of all metals (3,410 degrees Celsius), can increase the performance of equipment used in harsh settings. ItTo increase the ductility of a product in most real-world applications, material scientists must add softer elements like nickel, copper, or iron, the report claimed.
A research team led by Professor Wu Xuebang of the Institute of Solid State Physics in Hefei claimed in a paper published last month in Acta Materialia, an international peer-reviewed journal, that they had produced a large piece of pure tungsten with tensile strength reaching 1.35 gigapascals at room temperature – stronger than most tungsten alloys used today.
“The higher the tungsten purity, the lower the risk for fusion energy production,” Professor Fang Qianfeng, a scientist involved in the study, was quoted by SCMP.
The study was partially supported by China's fusion reactor program, according to the researchers. As it seeks to create and market a game-changing source of clean energy, China plans to finish and start generating power from an experimental nuclear fusion reactor by about 2040, according to a top scientist involved in the project.