Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) Stability

The study of large-scale plasma instabilities that can degrade or end confinement.

Magnetohydrodynamics treats the plasma as a conducting fluid and predicts large-scale instabilities — kinks, tearing modes, ballooning modes — that can limit pressure or trigger disruptions. Staying MHD-stable bounds how much pressure and current a machine can safely run.

Kronos's negative-triangularity, moderate-q₉₅ design is a conservative point in MHD-stability space rather than an aggressive one.