China’s sun gets hotter

Scientists at China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak, mercifully nicknamed EAST, have shattered a fusion barrier that physicists once considered unbreakable. The reactor achieved plasma densities 1.3 to 1.65 times beyond the so-called Greenwald Limit, the theoretical ceiling on how dense fusion plasma can get before it destabilizes. The trick involved precisely controlling fuel gas pressure and microwave heating at startup, keeping the superheated plasma cooperative at densities no one thought possible. This follows EAST's 2025 record of sustaining a plasma loop for over 1,000 seconds, roughly 17 minutes of containing material hotter than the sun. Commercial fusion energy remains years away, but scientists say this is a significant step toward the dream of near-limitless clean power. For now, the artificial sun stays in Hefei, China, where it is considerably less useful for your summer tan.