Operations & Commissioning
Running the Plasma
The moment-to-moment task of holding the plasma at its operating point.
- Task
- Hold the operating point
Operating the plasma means continuously steering heating, fuelling and coils to hold the operating point and head off instabilities, guided by diagnostics and guarded by the safety system. In a driven machine, this control is what makes the output steady and adjustable.
It is where the control technology earns its place.
Common questions
What does running the plasma involve?
Holding the plasma at its operating point by continuously balancing heating, fuelling, current drive and exhaust, while the control system corrects position and shape in real time.
Is the driven plasma easy to control?
More controllable than an igniting one — turn the heating down and the power follows. That controllability is a direct benefit of Kronos's driven-operation choice.