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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.