Mirror Confinement Physics

How a magnetic mirror traps particles — and why it needs plugging.

Trap

High-field throats

Leak

Loss cone

A magnetic mirror traps particles whose velocity is mostly perpendicular to the field, reflecting them from high-field throats; particles moving too parallel escape through a 'loss cone'. This end loss is the mirror's defining challenge, which the tandem-mirror plug addresses electrostatically — the burner's plug-density requirement.

Understanding the loss cone is understanding why the burner needs its plugs.