Wendelstein 7-X made headlines last week after generating a quarter-of-a-second pulse of hydrogen plasma, and now scientists at China's Institute of Physical Science have flexed their fusion muscle to sustain the gas for an impressive 102 seconds.

Experimental reactors like China's Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) have been used as vehicles to pursue abundant, clean nuclear fusion power for decades. Inside these hollow, doughnut-shaped chambers, hydrogen gas is superheated to temperatures rivalling our Sun to produce plasma, which is contained by powerful magnetic fields. If it can be held in place for long enough periods, this hydrogen plasma may one day be harnessed to provide a practically inexhaustible source of energy.