Failure Modes and Open Questions

The known ways each machine could fall short, published so partners can weigh them honestly.

Naming the ways this could be wrong

A credible program can state how it might fail. Below are the principal technical failure modes for each machine, drawn from the same public design basis as the rest of this library. None is hidden; each is an open question the program intends to answer with evidence.

Breeder-side

• If net tritium breeding does not close, the machine cannot fuel itself or produce surplus for products.
• Centrepost and first-wall lifetime under neutron flux constrain duty cycle and availability.
• Helium-3 yield depends on tritium decay handling and extraction, which is not yet demonstrated at design yield.

Burner-side

The plug-density requirement is the dominant risk; if it cannot be met at feasible field and beta, the tandem-mirror burner does not reach net power. Materials under even the reduced 5.44% neutron fraction still require qualification. These are the reasons the burner follows the breeder in the program and carries no near-term net-power claim.

Publishing failure modes is not pessimism; it is the precondition for a partnership built on evidence rather than persuasion.