Scientists Produce Plasma in Korean Fusion Reactor

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200807/200807160021.html Updated July.16,2008 09:44 KST

Scientists Produce Plasma in Korean Fusion Reactor

Korean scientists have successfully demonstrated a Korean-made "artificial sun" nuclear fusion reactor for first time, becoming one of the world's first research reactors to create plasma. The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Reactor, or KSTAR, succeeded in generating plasma that lasted 0.3 seconds at some 10 million degrees Celsius at the National Fusion Research Institute in Daejeon, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said on Tuesday.

Nuclear fusion reactors generate power by artificially triggering a process similar to the way the sun produces light, thus the term "artificial sun." Nuclear fusion is seen as a potential source of limitless clean energy because the two types of hydrogen used as raw materials, deuterium and tritium, are abundant, and harmful materials like greenhouse gases or high-level radioactive wastes are not produced.

A photo image of plasma forming numerous high-density electrons, generated in the KSTAR reactor. /Courtesy of the National Fusion Research Institute

But nuclear fusion requires plasma to remain at sun-like temperatures of millions of degrees for a certain amount of time. In order to gauge the possibility of commercialization, KSTAR has set the yardstick for plasma generation at 300 seconds and the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) at 500 -1,000 seconds. The successful generation of plasma at KSTAR is a significant step in this direction.

Dr. Kwon Myeon at NFRI said that KSTAR uses superconductors instead of copper wires to create a magnetic field so that the super-hot plasma does not touch the reactor's chamber walls. "The result of our research is drawing attention overseas as well because ITER works in the same way as KSTAR" he added.

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[whistle]

1. What a breakthrough...can now begin to develop the next generation

...of safe clean nuclear reactors and limitless energy :woohoo: :applause:

Was this in North or South Korea?

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. That would be South Korea

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KSTAR
http://www.pppl.gov/kstar/html/about_kstar.html
http://www.knfp.net/english/index1.html

http://www.knfp.net/information/main0611.html?tn=newsnev&mode=read&number=5&virtual_number=5

2008/07/17

KSTAR has successfully achieved its First Plasma Target!

KSTAR, a fully superconducting tokamak device with advanced Nb3Sn superconducting technology, has come a long way with all critical aspects resolved and successfully tested after "assembly completion" milestone on September 14, 2007. After full commissioning process started in February of this year, the National Fusion Research Institute officially announced that the KSTAR has successfully achieved the First Plasma on July 15, 2008.
※ KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research)

As KSTAR has succeeded in the First Plasma discharge with first cool-down trial, it is verified that the device was constructed and assembled with good quality assurance and superb quality engineering. Moreover, this shows that KSTAR has taken the first successful step toward the world-class fusion research for the upcoming decades of Operation Phase, in the era of ITER Construction and Exploitation.

The goal of the First Plasma discharge Test is to verify the operational capability in a new regime of plasma operation and to test if the integration of a newly-built fusion device proves to show its promised performance by generating expected plasmas even with limited ancillary system.

KSTAR has achieved the plasma current up to 130kA with pulse length about 400 ms at 1.5 tesla toroidal magnetic field, which has surpassed the original target parameters of the first plasma discharge.

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[BadgerKid]

5. Heh. "fully" superconducting

...better than those partially superconducting devices. :sarcasm:

Very cool. Thanks for collecting those links!

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. I don't think it's actually an oxymoron though

Consider, there have been Tokamaks since the 1960's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokamak#History

(So-called) "High temperature" superconductors weren't discovered until the 1980's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconductors#High_Temperature_superconductivity


As time went on, and superconductor technology advanced, more superconductors could be used in the assembly, until eventually, a "fully" superconducting reactor can be built.

KSTAR is an acronym for "Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Reactor." (Tokamak itself being an acronym.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KSTAR


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y96MDsPRObc

[BadgerKid]

7. I meant that superconductivity occurs only

below the critical temperature. They meant a reactor made entirely of superconductors. :)

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Way cool. Very Star Trek.

[whistle]

4. K & R