France set a record for the longest sustained ultra-high-temperature plasma in a nuclear fusion device. Plasma refers to the state where atomic nuclei and electrons are separated in an ultra-high-temperature environment like that of the Taeyang.
According to the French Atomic Energy and Alternative Energy Commission (CEA) on the 20th, the CEA's nuclear fusion research device, 'WEST,' successfully maintained ultra-high-temperature plasma at 100 million degrees Celsius for 1,337 seconds on the 12th. Previously, the Chinese Academy of Sciences' plasma physics research institute set a new record by maintaining 100 million degrees of plasma for 1,066 seconds on January 22, but France broke that record in less than a month.
The nuclear fusion device is called an 'artificial Taeyang' as it mimics the principle behind the energy production of the Taeyang. In the Taeyang, light atoms like hydrogen fuse in a plasma state, transforming into heavier helium nuclei. A tremendous amount of energy is produced during this process, equivalent to the mass decrease.
The CEA researchers noted in a statement, "We have renewed the plasma duration record previously recorded using a tokamak," adding, "This progress suggests the hope that we can maintain fusion plasma more stably and for longer durations in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)."
In South Korea, technology development for nuclear fusion power is also underway. The Korea Institute of Fusion Energy has set a goal to maintain plasma at 100 million degrees for more than 300 seconds in the Korean-style superconducting fusion research device (KSTAR) by 2026.