"Ultra-high temperature" and "ultra-low temperature" coexist, "super-strong magnetic field" and "super-high current" are parallel. To create an "artificial sun" on the earth, it must be carried by materials with extremely special properties. On the eve of the Chinese New Year, Hay Think walked into the ZKHF Superconducting Materials Science and Technology Research Institute and heard one story after another of Chinese "super materials" from scratch.
Nuclear fusion reactions require high temperatures of tens of millions of degrees Celsius or even hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius. Conventional materials cannot withstand such high temperatures. A feasible solution is to use magnetic force to confine it in a "magnetic cage." However, the generation of a strong magnetic field requires "super high current", and the electricity intensity is thousands or even tens of thousands of times that of ordinary household air conditioners. This will generate huge heat and ordinary conductors will be burned.
"Superconductor is a material with zero resistance under special conditions. This feature can prevent the conductor from heating and realize the long-term operation of the "artificial sun"." said Li Jiangang, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, that China started the development of the "artificial sun" that year. At that time, the superconducting technology was controlled by a few developed countries, and many technical blockades and other problems appeared in the process of purchasing superconducting materials from abroad.
In the process of building an all-superconducting tokamak nuclear fusion experimental facility (EAST) in China, ZKHF has developed more than 60 key technologies. 90% of the required superconducting, low-temperature and other cutting-edge materials are researched on its own. Trial-produced step by step in our own factory workshop.
From superconducting materials, superconducting joints, superconducting wiring to large-scale magnet systems, after about 20 years of continuous efforts, China now has the world's advanced superconducting technology. "It can be said that the development of the'artificial sun' has also promoted China's superconducting material industry for 20 years." Song Yuntao, director of the ZKHF Research Institute, introduced that China has now become the world's largest exporter of superconducting materials. The target of "monopoly" has become a major global supplier.