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Engineering & Subsystems
The Plug-Density Requirement
One number gates the burner. Kronos puts it front and centre rather than in a footnote.
- Requirement
- n_p/n_c ≈ 16
- Class
- Requirement, not result
- Gating experiment
- Plug demonstration
In a tandem mirror, the end plugs must reach a density well above the central cell to build an ambipolar potential deep enough to confine the central ions. The Kronos burner's net-positive operation is contingent on a plug-to-central density ratio of about np/nc = 16.
At a substantially lower ratio, the machine does not close and its engineering gain is not defined. This is why Kronos labels the burner's net power requirement-class: it is a target set by physics, to be demonstrated, not a measured outcome.
How it gets closedA dedicated plug demonstration is the gating experiment; until it reaches the required ratio, the burner's net power remains a design target.