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Magnetic Bottles & Laser Squeeze: Two Ways To Contain A Star

Compare magnetic confinement and inertial confinement—the two competing paths to fusion power

Part of Build A Star: The Nuclear Fusion Revolution

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The Containment Problem

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The Containment Problem

The challenge: 150 million K plasma is hotter than any material's melting point. It can't touch anything physical.

Two solutions emerged:

1. Magnetic Confinement

  • Use powerful electromagnets to create a "magnetic bottle"
  • Levitate plasma away from walls
  • Hold for seconds to continuous operation

2. Inertial Confinement

  • Crush fuel so fast it doesn't have time to expand
  • Compression happens faster than plasma can move
  • Hold for nanoseconds only

Both are trying to achieve the Lawson criterion—just through completely different physics.

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Quiz: 3 Questions

Test your understanding with this quiz.

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Why can't we just use regular metal walls to contain fusion plasma?

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Design Your Fusion Company

Complete this exercise and get AI-powered feedback.

Design Your Fusion Company

You're pitching to investors for your fusion energy startup. Choose a confinement approach and defend it.

Think about: Technical path, risk management, market strategy, competitive positioning, and why your approach will succeed where others might fail.

Key insight: In breakthrough innovation, timing is everything—too early and you run out of money, too late and you miss the market.