A Korean nuclear fusion reactor achieves 100 million °C for 30 seconds.
A continuous, steady experiment is the most recent proof that nuclear fusion is moving from being a physics problem to an engineering one.
Korea's Leading Superconducting Tokamak Research
Korean Institute for Fusion Energy
It has been observed that a nuclear fusion process can last for 30 seconds at temperatures more than 100 million degrees Celsius. Even while the length and temperature alone are not records, the simultaneous achievement of heat and stability brings us closer to a working fusion reactor, assuming that the process can be scaled up.
At Seoul National University in South Korea, Yong-Su Na and his colleagues have now achieved the feat of carrying out a reaction at the extremely high temperatures required for a functional reactor and retaining the heated, ionised state of matter that is created within the device for 30 seconds.
This so-called plasma must be controlled. The reaction is stifled and the chamber containing it is severely damaged if it comes into contact with the reactor's walls, which causes it to rapidly cool. Multiple magnetic field configurations are often used to keep the plasma contained. To shape plasma with a strong pressure cutoff near to the reactor wall and stop heat and plasma from leaving, some researchers use edge transport barriers (ETBs). Some people use an internal But either way can result in
At the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) device, Na's team employed a modified ITB approach to achieve a significantly lower plasma density. Their strategy appears to raise plasma core temperatures while lowering plasma edge temperatures, which will likely increase the lifespan of reactor parts.
Na's group used a modified ITB strategy at the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) device to obtain a noticeably lower plasma density. Their approach seems to boost plasma core temperatures while decreasing plasma edge temperatures, which will probably lengthen reactor component lifespan.
According to Dominic Power at Imperial College London, you can increase confinement time, make plasma extremely hot, or thick to increase the amount of energy a reactor produces.
The density confinement is actually a little lower than usual operating modes, according to this team's research, but the researcher adds that this is not always a bad thing because it is balanced out by higher core temperatures. Despite the fact that it's obviously exhilatungsted it's unclear how well our.
The plasma in a tokamak fusion reactor is managed by DeepMind using artificial intelligence.
According to Na, low density was important, and fast-ion-regulated enhancement (FIRE), or "rapid" or highly energetic ions in the plasma's core, was necessary for stability. The group is still trying to completely understand the underlying mechanics, though.
The reaction was only stopped after 30 seconds due to hardware limitations; longer times should be possible in the future. The carbon wall components of KSTAR's reactor are currently being replaced with tungsten as part of enhancements.
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