– Scientists at the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) in South Korea set a new world record for their nuclear fusion reactor, an “artificial sun”, by generating plasma at a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius.
– This is 7 times hotter than the core of the sun and they were able to sustain this temperature for 48 seconds, breaking their previous record of 30 seconds set in 2021.
– Nuclear fusion reactions that occur in stars like the sun could potentially provide a clean, safe and limitless source of energy if achieved on Earth. Tokamak reactors like KSTAR are trying to contain and control fusion through extremely hot plasma.
– Achieving stable high temperatures and longer plasma time are important steps towards developing fusion as a viable energy source. The KSTAR team aims to sustain over 100 million degrees for 300 seconds by 2026.
– Other fusion experiments around the world have also set new records, showing progress but commercialization is still far off. The ITER reactor being built in France may provide more answers when completed.
Source: futurism
