Japan’s tokamak sets world record, achieves plasma volume of 160 cubic meters

A tokamak device, jointly developed by Japan and Europe, has achieved a plasma volume of 160 cubic meters. The achievement has been officially certified by Guinness World Records.

Superconducting plasma experimental device JT-60SA, also known as the world’s largest tokamak, achieved this feat.

The device was constructed with the aim of achieving early practical application of fusion energy.

A detailed examination of the experimental results confirmed that a plasma volume of 160 cubic meters had been achieved, far exceeding the previous record of 100 cubic meters achieved by other previous devices, according to Japan’s National Institutes for Quantum and Science and Technology (QST).

QST to apply the knowledge gained from JT-60SA to future reactors

A high-temperature plasma is confined within the tokamak by combining a circumferential toroidal magnetic field produced by the external coils, which is the main magnetic field, with a radial poloidal magnetic field created by passing a circumferential current in the plasma.

The ​ QST also maintained that it will proactively apply the knowledge gained from JT-60SA to the ITER and future DEMO reactors and will continue to work as a core for the early commercialization of fusion energy.

The QST claims that JT-60SA uses powerful superconducting coils cooled to approximately -452.2 degrees Fahrenheit (absolute temperature of approximately 4K) to confine plasma that can reach 212 million degrees Fahrenheit of temperature.

Results can contribute to control bigger plasmas

Plasma confinement performance also depends on the size of the plasma, so the world’s highest performance is expected in heating experiments in the future.

In addition, the plasma control method and the result can contribute to the control of larger plasmas planned for ITER and DEMO reactors. DEMO will be developed based on the results of JT-60SA and ITER and is a device to demonstrate the power generation and economic efficiency of fusion energy.

It’s claimed that the JT-60SA addresses the main aspects of fusion research, from plasma physics to engineering, with special attention to their combination into tokamak operation. Professional success in fusion research is often not only based on excellence in specific subjects (plasma theory, computing, experiments, diagnostics, engineering etc.) but also on a broad basis of knowledge, allowing contributions to both scientific exploitation and realization of fusion experiments.

Series of operations conducted to check the performance of JT-60SA

The JT-60SA possesses unique capabilities, including the ability to generate long-pulse, high-beta, and highly shaped plasmas. The JT-60SA machine, laboratories, experimental program, and its associated modeling activity can be an ideal playground for the training of Japanese and European students and young professionals to nurture the new generations of fusion physicists and engineers .

QST maintained that a series of operations was conducted to check the performance of JT-60SA. The series started with vacuum pumping on JT-60SA, cooling superconducting coils, and coil energization tests, after which plasma was actually produced, and scientists confirmed the overall performance of JT-60SA, including its control, according to a release .