South Korea follows the footsteps of China, creates ‘Artificial Sun’
In case you have forgotten, let us jog your memory a bit. Earlier this year, China’s ‘Artificial Sun’ that was created using its EAST (Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak) nuclear reactor successfully produced high plasma temperature (70 million degrees Celsius) for a record 17 minutes. This, in turn, led to unlimited clean energy. And now, it looks like, South Korea is following the footsteps of China and is on its way to create its own ‘Artificial Sun’ using the indigenous KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) nuclear reactor.
This collaborative project by the Seoul National University and the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy has led to the discovery of an artificial source of sustainable nuclear energy. It can be harnessed by initiating a strong nuclear reaction, in turn producing temperatures seven times higher than the Sun. In fact, the latest reports suggest that the KSTAR reactor was able to reach temperatures over 100 million degrees Celsius for a duration of 30 seconds for the first time ever, a milestone in itself. The report also suggests that this major invention represents a significant advancement in their study, that was recently published in the journal Science Alert. A video of the KSTAR reaching this feat was also shared on their YouTube page, the caption of which read as follows, “Ion temperature shown in color over a period of 24 seconds, achieved by the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR).”
Sources also cite that South Korean scientists are now aiming to sustain plasma temperatures of 100 million degrees Celsius for 50 seconds by the end of this year, and want to maintain the same temperature for about 300 seconds by 2026. The goal is simple, to mimic the natural reaction of the Sun (thst is nuclear fusion) using modern-day cutting-edge technologies and help humanity have access to unlimited energy and overcome its current scarcity.
Just like China, South Korea too has been attempting to revolutionise the field of energy efficiency since a few years now. To succeed in its long-term goal, it has now finally been able to pave the way for harnessing clean energy through nuclear fusion reactors, which was previously considered to be impossible. In fact, South Korea’s latest experiment surrounding the ‘Artificial Sun’ has once again broken all stereotypes and have ascertained that clean, renewable and sustainable solar energy can be produced from inside of a laboratory.