Chapter 1: Understanding Nuclear Fusion

Nuclear fusion has recently taken a monumental leap forward with a new world record established for stable nuclear fusion operations. The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) has successfully maintained high-temperature plasma for an impressive 20 seconds.

About a year ago, I discussed China's ambitious plans to achieve nuclear fusion through its HL-2M Tokamak, dubbed the "artificial sun." The quest for stable nuclear fusion energy has long been a challenging dream for researchers. This intricate process occurs naturally within our sun, which generates vast amounts of sustainable energy. However, merging two lighter atomic nuclei into a heavier one releases significant energy but is inherently unstable and hard to control.

In the summer of 2019, physicists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison developed a "Mini Sun" to further investigate the processes occurring in our own star. While initiatives like the HL-2M are focused on heating deuterium-tritium (two forms of hydrogen) to extreme temperatures of around 100 million degrees, others, such as HB-11 energy, aim to harness an endless supply of clean and safe energy using naturally abundant fuels, without generating radioactive waste.

Despite varying approaches, all these projects share a common objective: achieving stable and sustainable nuclear fusion reactions. The Chinese project mentioned earlier recently powered up its "artificial sun" for the first time, marking significant progress in the nation's nuclear energy research capabilities.

"The success of the KSTAR experiment in the long, high-temperature operation by overcoming some drawbacks of the ITB modes brings us a step closer to the development of technologies for the realization of nuclear fusion energy."

~ Yong-Su Na, Lead Researcher

In another remarkable achievement, KSTAR, also referred to as the Korean artificial sun, has set a new world record for nuclear fusion reactions. Collaborating with Seoul National University (SNU) and Columbia University, KSTAR succeeded in operating plasma continuously for 20 seconds at temperatures exceeding 100 million degrees.

This advancement marks a significant improvement over the previous record of 8 seconds set during the 2019 KSTAR Plasma Campaign. KSTAR had initially achieved a retention time of just 1.5 seconds in its first attempt in 2018. Notably, no existing nuclear fusion devices have surpassed 10 seconds of retention time at 100 million degrees—making this a historic milestone.

The breakthrough was made possible by enhancing the performance of the Internal Transport Barrier (ITB) mode. ITB is a next-generation plasma operation mode developed last year, which successfully maintained plasma stability for extended periods, overcoming previous limitations.

The research team plans to conduct a total of 110 plasma experiments, including high-performance plasma operation and disruption mitigation studies, collaborating with both domestic and international researchers. KSTAR aims to share its findings globally, with the ultimate goal of achieving continuous operation for 300 seconds at ion temperatures above 100 million degrees by 2025. The potential of nuclear fusion as a source of abundant energy is becoming increasingly tangible.

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Chapter 2: Visual Insights into Nuclear Fusion Achievements

This video showcases the moment when the UK nuclear fusion reactor achieved a new world record for energy output, highlighting the advancements in this exciting field.

In this video, witness the new fusion energy record pulse from the JET DTE3 campaign, demonstrating the cutting-edge progress being made in nuclear fusion technology.