The intense heat was maintained for 48 seconds, a new record.
A new world record for fusion has been set at a facility in South Korea, reports A Live sciences.
The previous peak can also be linked to KSTAR, which was achieved in 2021. This new achievement represents a small but important step towards almost unlimited clean energy.
Scientists have been trying to harness the power of nuclear fusion hidden in stars for more than 70 years. So-called main sequence stars fuse hydrogen atoms to form helium at extremely high pressure and temperature, resulting in a significant energy output.
However, replicating the conditions prevailing in the cores of stars on Earth is no easy task. The most common technology is the so-called tokamak. In this type of reactor, the plasma is heated and confined in a donut-shaped chamber with a strong magnetic field.
This process consumes a lot of energy: Natan Yavlinsky A Soviet scientist designed the first tokamak in 1958, but until now it had not been possible to create a reactor that could emit more energy than it absorbed. The main problem is very high temperature plasma treatment.
To achieve the new record, the researchers modified the reactor, using tungsten instead of carbon to improve the converters in the cocoons that remove heat and ash. The KSTAR team has set the goal that the reactor will be able to maintain a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius for 300 seconds by 2026.
By the way, not only are similar experiments being conducted in South Korea, but investigations have already been carried out with the participation of Hungarian experts, among others.
