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UK nuclear fusion reactor sets new world record for energy output
In its final experiments before being shut down for good last year, the UK's JET reactor set a world record for the energy output of a fusion reaction.
The UK’s 40-year-old fusion reactor achieved a world record for energy output in its final runs before being shut down for good, scientists have announced.
- Matthew Sparkes
- New Scientist
The Joint European Torus (JET) in Oxfordshire began operating in 1983.
When running, it was temporarily the hottest point in the solar system, reaching 150 million°C.
The reactor’s previous record was a reaction lasting for 5 seconds in 2021, producing 59 megajoules of heat energy.
But in its final tests in late 2023, it…