The Korean "artificial sun" has set a new world record with over 100 million degrees
The Korean "artificial sun" known as KSTAR extension, is a special fusion reactor. The scientists set a new world record by keeping the plasma at ion temperatures of over 20 million degrees Celsius for 100 seconds. The previous performance of this type was more than twice as short. KSTAR extension (Acronym for Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) is a special one Fusion reactor, which is also called the Korean artificial sun. It is a very complex machine that makes it possible to reproduce fusion reactions that take place in the stars.
On November 24th, the scientists announced KSTAR extension known that they managed to work for 20 seconds with a plasma with a temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius. The previous record from 2019 lasted 8 seconds. The first performance of its kind happened in 2018 when it was 1,5 seconds. The process is not easy. The attempt to recreate the fusion reactions taking place on the sun under terrestrial conditions requires the placement of hydrogen isotopes in a special machine. This is where nuclear fusion takes place so that the plasma state can be restored. In this process, the ions and electrons are separated and the former must be heated at a high temperature.
Even if 20 seconds doesn't seem like a long time, scientists are under no illusions and speak of a breakthrough. This is an important step in the creation of new technologies related to the development of fusion energy. Scientists say that KSTAR extension to enable a plasma duration of 2025 seconds by 300.