Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
KSTAR
"South Korea's superconducting fusion research tokamak that set a record of sustaining H-mode plasma for 102 seconds and ion temperature of 100 million°C for 48 seconds"
KSTAR (Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) is a magnetic confinement fusion device operated by the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE) in Daejeon, South Korea. It is designed to study the plasma physics required for a commercial nuclear fusion reactor. KSTAR uses fully superconducting magnets — a feature that distinguishes it from many earlier tokamaks — allowing it to sustain plasma for longer durations. During the 2023–2024 campaign, KSTAR set two important records: it sustained H-mode (High Confinement Mode) plasma for 102 seconds, and separately sustained plasma at an ion temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius (°C) for 48 seconds. These are separate records — the 102-second duration was not sustained at 100 million°C simultaneously. KSTAR is one of four major international tokamaks contributing research to the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project under construction in France.
KSTAR is directly relevant for GS3 (science and technology, nuclear energy, fusion) and essay writing on future energy. The concept of nuclear fusion — fusing hydrogen isotopes to release energy, producing no long-lived radioactive waste and using abundantly available fuel — is a major exam theme. Key facts: tokamak design, H-mode plasma, 100 million°C (seven times hotter than the Sun's core at ~15 million°C), and the global fusion race involving ITER, KSTAR, JET (UK), and India's own SST-1 at IPR Gandhinagar.
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- 2 Located in Daejeon, South Korea
- 3 Uses fully superconducting magnets — enables longer plasma confinement than resistive-magnet tokamaks
- 4 2023–2024 campaign records: (1) H-mode plasma sustained for 102 seconds; (2) ion temperature of 100 million°C sustained for 48 seconds — these are two separate records
- 5 100 million°C is approximately seven times hotter than the Sun's core (~15 million°C)
- 6 H-mode (High Confinement Mode) — a plasma state with significantly better energy insulation, critical for net energy gain
- 7 One of four major tokamaks feeding data to ITER (France); others include JET (UK, retired 2024), JT-60SA (Japan), and China's EAST
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KSTAR's 48-second confinement of plasma at 100 million°C is significant because fusion reactions between deuterium and tritium require a minimum plasma temperature of about 100 million°C — matching the KSTAR record means the device is operating precisely at the threshold temperature needed for commercially viable fusion power.
