The Magnetic Field Map

Hyperion reaches 16.84 T on the conductor and about 8 T on the plasma axis; field falls with radius, concentrating the highest field at the center stack.

Two numbers, one field

Two field figures anchor Hyperion. The peak field of 16.84 T is the maximum on the conductor, which occurs at the inboard toroidal-field legs in the center stack. The on-axis field of about 8 T is what the plasma sees at its center, at major radius 1.2 m. The difference is geometry: toroidal field falls roughly as one over the major radius, so it is far stronger at the crowded center than at the plasma.

Poloidal contribution

The toroidal field alone would not confine a plasma; it must be twisted by the poloidal field from the 9.66 MA plasma current and shaped by the poloidal-field coils. The combined helical field defines nested magnetic surfaces that hold the plasma pressure. The field map, toroidal plus poloidal, is what the equilibrium and stability calculations solve for.

Why the peak sits at the center

Because the field is strongest at the center stack, the conductor there, and the center post beside it, live in the harshest magnetic and mechanical environment in the machine. Delivering 16.84 T requires REBCO high-temperature superconductor and structure capable of reacting the associated forces in a very small radius. The field map therefore drives both the magnet technology choice and the center-stack engineering.

• 16.84 T peak on the conductor at the center stack
• ~8 T on the plasma axis (field ~ 1/R)
• Total confining field = toroidal plus poloidal (9.66 MA)

This page describes a design and simulation study, not a built machine. Construction begins Q2 2027; first-of-a-kind first tritium is targeted near 2030.