[ti:France Sets New Record in Hunt for Nuclear Fusion]
[al:As It Is]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2025-02-25]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]French scientists have announced they set a new record of 22 minutes for keeping hydrogen atoms in a state called plasma.
[00:13.97]The team said their work marks an important step in the search for nuclear fusion methods that could produce massive amounts of clean energy in the future.
[00:28.00]France's Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) said the experiment - carried out February 12 - showed the process kept, or maintained, a state of plasma for 1,337 seconds.
[00:48.86]The CEA added that the new record was 25 percent longer than the previous one, set in China last month.
[01:01.32]The aim of fusion research is to create the same kind of nuclear reaction that happens in the center of the sun.
[01:11.81]In a fusion reaction, the centers of two atoms fuse, or join together, to form a new atom with a heavier nucleus, or center.
[01:24.48]This process releases large amounts of energy.
[01:29.83]Some experts say this means fusion could be a major source of clean, safe, and almost limitless energy in the future. 
[01:41.96]However, because fusion happens at very high temperatures, it is difficult to control.
[01:50.94]The scientists in France used a machine called a tokamak to do their research. 
[01:58.91]The machine is a circular ring with strong walls to resist intense heat.
[02:06.88]Inside the ring, hydrogen atoms are heated to temperatures up to about 50 million degrees Celsius.
[02:17.07]The process creates plasma that is held together by powerful magnets.
[02:23.53]Anne-Isabelle Etienvre is the CEA's head of fundamental research. 
[02:31.17]She told the French news agency AFP the new record for making plasma shows "that we control its production, but also its maintenance."
[02:46.09]However, Etienvre noted that there are still many "technological barriers" to overcome before fusion can "produce more energy than it consumes."
[03:00.14]Scientists say that for nuclear fusion to succeed, hydrogen atoms will need to be heated up to more than 100 million degrees Celsius.
[03:13.72]At this extreme temperature, plasma can become unstable and difficult to control. 
[03:22.78]This can lead to energy loss and limit how well a possible future nuclear fusion reactor could work.
[03:32.39]In the coming months, the research team will look to increase the time they can keep the atoms in a plasma state. 
[03:43.02]They hope to bring the total time "up to several hours combined."
[03:49.11]The CEA noted that in future experiments, scientists will also aim to heat the plasma to higher temperatures and examine the effects the hot plasma has on their testing machine.
[04:05.64]Teams from multiple countries are working together in southern France to build the world's largest tokamak and fusion research center, called ITER. 
[04:19.74]The effort includes scientists from the United States, China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, and Russia.
[04:33.41]The teams hope the current research on maintaining plasma will be useful for future projects at ITER. 
[04:42.44]However, AFP reports that repeated delays and increasing costs have postponed operations at ITER until at least 2033.
[04:58.03]I'm Andrew Smith.