Nuclear fusion reactor in South Korea runs at 100 million degrees C for a record-breaking 48 seconds

A view inside the KSTAR reactor chamber.

South Korea's "artificial sun" has set a new fusion record after superheating a plasma loop to 180 million degrees Fahrenheit (100 million degrees Celsius) for 48 seconds, scientists have announced. 

The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) reactor broke the previous world record of 31 seconds, which was set by the same reactor in 2021.The breakthrough is a small but impressive step on the long road to a source of near-unlimited clean energy.