A South Korean fusion reactor designed to study magnetic fusion energy has set a world record in high-performance plasma operation.
 
The device, called the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research(KSTAR), broke the record based on the principle that in the sun, hydrogen nuclei create a fusion reaction and produce massive amounts of energy when heated at temperatures of more than 100 million degrees Celsius.
 
Using superconducting magnets, KSTAR creates temperatures of more than 100 million degrees Celsius, which leads atoms’ electrons to separate from their nuclei, creating energy-rich plasma.
 
The key to related research is how stable and how long plasma can be sustained. In KSTAR’s instance, it kept that state for 70 seconds, or ten seconds longer than China which had previously held the world record.
 
If plasma is sustained for 300 seconds, it can be used to get energy equivalent to eight tons of oil with just one gram of deuterium from seawater.
 
Observers say that with the latest achievement, South Korea appears to have come a step closer to commercializing nuclear fusion energy.