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Towards an understanding of the Sun's butterfly diagram
The Sun spins about a fixed axis, but since it's not solid its rotation frequency is not uniform: At the visible surface, the equator rotates in about 27 days whereas close by the poles it takes 35 days. The plasma that forms the Sun is held together by its own gravitational pull with a density that is highest in the centre.
In this high density core, the sun creates energy by nuclear fusion. Around that core, there's a layer, the radiative zone, where the density is already too small for fusion, and the heat created in the core is just passed on outwards by radiative transfer. Further outside, when the density is even lower, the plasma then passes on the heat by convection, basically cycles of hot plasma moving upwards and cooler plasma moving downwards.
At the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE), the KSTAR tokamak recommenced operations in December after a major upgrade to replace the…
KSTAR aims for longer plasmas
At the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy (KFE), the KSTAR tokamak recommenced operations in December after a major upgrade to replace the device's carbon divertor with a tungsten divertor.
According to an article on the KFE website, the original carbon divertors could take a thermal load of 5MW/m², whereas the tungsten divertor can take 10MW/m². The upgrade is critical to the goal of sustaining a 100-million-degree plasma for 300 seconds by 2026. Data from the operational campaign will be directly relevant to ITER, which will operate a tungsten divertor under similar plasma conditions in terms of shape and structure.
This testing campaign will continue through February 2024. Read more about the plans in this article in English on the KFE website, or in Korean in the Chosun Biz.