Model Honesty and Physics Gates
The model shows what is designed and computed, states clearly that the machines are unbuilt, and flags the gates that remain.
Honesty as a feature
The most important design rule of the Kronos 3D model is honesty about what it is. It represents two machines that have not been built. It shows the design geometry and the computed performance, and it states plainly that these are simulation results, not measurements from operating hardware.
What the model does not do
- It does not render a plasma glow as if standing in for a demonstrated shot.
- It does not show a dial reading out a measurement that has not been made.
- It does not claim hardware net gain before the first Hyperion unit reaches first tritium around 2030.
- It does not present a computed design point as an achieved result.
The gates
A physics gate is a result that must be demonstrated before a claim can be made. The model flags these rather than glossing over them: the gain figure of Q 3.424 is a simulation result, the tritium breeding ratio of 1.8 is a design target, and the burner's performance rests on confinement that the extreme plug fields are designed to achieve. Naming the gates is what separates a design record from a marketing render.
Why this matters
A model that overstated what exists would undermine the very work it displays. By being explicit that construction begins Q2 2027 and that net gain is not claimed before first tritium, the model can be trusted precisely because it does not exaggerate. Its restraint is what makes its numbers worth citing.
Related
See The Model as Design Record and Design Parameter Callouts for how the numbers are presented with their status.