WEST sustained a hydrogen plasma for 1,337 seconds
On February 12, scientists at CEA's WEST tokamak sustained a hydrogen plasma for 1,337 seconds, about 22 minutes, while 2.6 gigajoules of energy were injected and extracted. One heating-system klystron stopped during the discharge, but the plasma continued until the radio-frequency system was shut down. This was a plasma-duration result for fusion research, not net electricity generation.
The record ends here. Everything below this line is invented.
What if the hardest part of fusion were knowing exactly when to stop?
Part one
Thirteen Thirty-Seven
Nadia checked the temperature of the tungsten-facing components every forty seconds. In the experimental tokamak, a long pulse was a test of control as much as plasma: the machine had to hold a changing current without turning its walls into the limit. Her job was to keep the run inside the envelope while the control room watched for a shift.
The new record had changed operator training. A long hydrogen plasma could continue after a heating channel failed if the control system found another regime, but survival of one pulse did not make every component safe. Nadia's sister had machined the tungsten plates and signed the inspection log. The research team had one final run before the facility entered its maintenance window.
At minute seventeen, a heating channel went dark. The plasma reorganized, and the monitor kept counting. Nadia could let the control system continue toward the record or end the pulse before the component temperature reached its limit. She moved her hand toward shutdown. The safety display changed from amber to green, and a second temperature trace appeared where the model had predicted none.
What’s real
- WEST sustained hydrogen plasma for 1,337 seconds.
- The discharge involved 2.6 gigajoules injected and extracted.
- The experiment did not generate net electricity.
What’s invented
- Nadia, her sister, and the tokamak control room are fictional.
- The future control model and unexpected temperature trace are invented.
- The WEST result did not demonstrate a commercial fusion plant.
Part two: The Safety Screen
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