South Korea's " artificial sun " set this impressive record using a new tungsten diverter.

According to scientists, the Korean Advanced Research Superconducting Tokamak fusion reactor set the record during testing from December 2023 to February 2024.

KSTAR successfully maintained a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius for 48 seconds while the core temperature of the Sun is 15 million degrees Celsius. In addition, the Korea Advanced Research Superconducting Tokamak fusion reactor also maintained the high limit mode (H mode) for more than 100 seconds. H mode is an advanced operating mode in magnetically confined fusion with a stable plasma state.

Fusion reactions mimic the process that produces light and heat from stars. The process involves merging hydrogen and other light elements to release enormous amounts of energy. Experts hope to use fusion reactors to generate an unlimited source of carbon-free electricity.

The Korean Advanced Research Superconducting Tokamak fusion reactor broke the previous world record set by 31 seconds in 2021.

Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research Fusion Reactor (KSTAR).

The National Research Council for Science and Technology (NST) said it was crucial to develop a technology that can maintain high temperatures and high-density plasmas for the most efficient fusion reactions over a long period of time. A key part of achieving the new record was the tungsten diverter, a key component at the bottom of the vacuum tank in the magnetic fusion device. It plays a key role in pushing waste gases and impurities out of the reactor while still withstanding the high surface heat load.

The KSTAR team has switched to using tungsten instead of carbon in the divertor. According to scientists, tungsten has the highest melting point of any metal. KSTAR's success in maintaining H mode for longer periods of time is also largely due to this upgrade. KSTAR's next goal is to maintain a temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius for 300 seconds by 2026.