Artificial Sun: SST-1 Tokamak, Gyrotron & Nuclear Fusion Research

Subject: GS 03: Science and Technology

Context: India commissioned an 82.6 GHz, 400 kW gyrotron on the SST-1 tokamak in Gujarat, strengthening research on sustained, ultra-hot fusion plasma to build Artificial Sun.

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About Artificial Sun

• An artificial Sun is a colloquial term for an experimental nuclear-fusion reactor, rather than an actual miniature Sun.

• Key Components
  • Vacuum Vessel: The doughnut-shaped tokamak chamber provides a high-vacuum environment in which fusion plasma is generated and controlled.
  • Superconducting Magnetic Coils: These coils create strong toroidal and poloidal magnetic fields that confine charged plasma away from reactor walls.
  • Auxiliary Heating Systems: Gyrotrons and Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) provide additional energy to heat and sustain the plasma; the new gyrotron operates at 82.6 GHz and 400 kW.
  • Divertor: The divertor removes heat and helium ash from the plasma edge, supporting stable and continuous fusion operation.
• Working Mechanism: Hydrogen isotopes are heated into plasma; magnetic fields confine it, enabling nuclei to overcome repulsion and fuse into helium while releasing energy.
• Potential Applications: Fusion could provide a low-carbon, reliable energy source with abundant fuel and substantially less long-lived radioactive waste than conventional fission.
• Global Artificial Sun Experiments
  • India – SST-1: India’s superconducting tokamak at Institute for Plasma Research, Gujarat studies long-pulse plasma and advanced fusion-heating techniques.
  • China – EAST: The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak investigates sustained, high-temperature plasma under magnetic confinement.
  • Europe – ITER: The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor is being developed in France to demonstrate large-scale fusion performance.
  • USA – NIF: The National Ignition Facility uses powerful lasers for inertial-confinement fusion, unlike tokamak-based magnetic confinement.
  • South Korea – KSTAR: The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research facility studies high-temperature, long-duration plasma confinement.

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Key Features of SST-1

• Superconducting Tokamak: SST-1 (Steady-State Superconducting Tokamak-1) is India’s first superconducting tokamak, designed for magnetic-confinement fusion research and long-duration plasma operation.
• Advanced Magnetic System: It employs superconducting toroidal and poloidal field magnets to confine high-temperature plasma under steady-state conditions.
• Advanced Plasma Heating: SST-1 uses Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) and Lower Hybrid Current Drive (LHCD)
  • Its new 82.6 GHz, 400 kW ECRH  gyrotron system enables efficient plasma heating.
  • A gyrotron is a high-power vacuum electronic device that generates millimeter-wave and sub-millimeter-wave electromagnetic radiation using the cyclotron resonance of electrons moving through a strong magnetic field 
• Fusion-Research Platform: It supports experiments on plasma stability, heating, current drive and technologies relevant to future fusion-energy systems.

News Source: India Today

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