New nuclear fusion device put into operation

The Keda Torus eXperiment (KTX), a medium-sized reversed field pinch (RFP) device, developed by the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) has finished its installation and debugging and was put into operation.

The KTX is six meters high and the diameter of the main body is eight meters, with a total weight of more than 70 tons. It has a major radius of 1.4 m and a minor radius of 0.4 m with an Ohmic discharge current up to 1 MA, according to the website of the University of Science and Technology.

KTX is independently designed and developed by China, said Liu Wandong, a professor with the Department of Physics of USTC.

The device will provide scientists with a new platform to carry out plasma research. China and the United States are the heaviest investors in controllable nuclear fusion. China currently has 16 large-scale nuclear fusion devices, compared to 28 of the U.S., according to a news report by China.org.cn.