November 6, 2017  |  Michl Binderbauer

The Heat is On

After our extensive work with the TAE Technologies C-2U machine – a culmination of over 50,000 experiments – we were able to make significant breakthroughs in plasma confinement and stability to prove the Long Enough component of the Hot Enough, Long Enough – or HE/LE – milestone and sustain plasma at will.

We are proud to now announce that last week we achieved colliding and merging of field-reverse configurations (FRCs) on Norman, which is another critical marker on our path to success.

Remember those smoke rings of plasma we supersonically smashed together in our explainer video?

FRCs are a critical component of plasma confinement and stability. Thanks to our previous insights from C-2U, Norman’s plasma will be both hotter and more stable from the outset.

Since unveiling Norman earlier this summer, we’ve performed close to 3,000 experiments to ensure the machine is working as expected and synchronized for double-sided operations. Our research through 2018 will revolve around the Hot Enough milestone towards fusion.

Now it’s time to get to work. The heat is on.