Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by willis936 2151 days ago
In MCF machines plasmas are made by heating gas through RF (gyrotrons) or momentum (NBI). Both gyrotrons and NBI are very expensive, complicated, high power machines with big subsystems that go into them. Bringing on all of the heaters and diagnostics take time. Wall conditioning takes time. The first plasma is before most of the necessary systems are up. It’s a demonstration that the machine is built.