Korean Fusion Reactor Achieves Record Heat, Blazing 7 Times Hotter Than Sun's Core
Korea's Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) reactor, often dubbed the "Korean artificial sun," has achieved a groundbreaking feat: maintaining fusion temperatures for nearly a minute and containing scorching plasma for over 100 seconds.
Fusion, the process that fuels stars, occurs at lower temperatures in stars due to gravity's compression. Here on Earth, replicating this requires temperatures seven times hotter than the Sun's core: a blazing 100 million ¡ãC (180 million ¡ãF).
In 2018, KSTAR hit this mark for 1.5 seconds, followed by 8 seconds in 2019, and 20 seconds in 2020. By 2021, they extended it to 30 seconds. Now, with upgrades including a new tungsten divertor, KSTAR can sustain 100 million ¡ãC for 48 seconds and keep high-confinement plasma for 102 seconds.
Dr. Si-Woo Yoon, Director of KSTAR Research Center, expressed optimism, emphasizing the need for further advancements in heating and current drive devices.
KSTAR, along with the Joint European Torus (JET), serves as a vital testing ground for fusion technology. They pave the way for future reactors like ITER and DEMO, with ITER set to come online next year and DEMO expected to begin construction soon.
Dr. Suk Jae Yoo, President of the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE), sees this as a stepping stone toward DEMO, highlighting the pursuit of core technologies for sustainable fusion energy.
