The Lawson Criterion
The Lawson criterion states the minimum product of density and confinement time for fusion to produce net energy; gain targets are points relative to it.
The original threshold
The Lawson criterion, formulated in the 1950s, expresses the minimum product of plasma density and energy confinement time needed for the fusion energy released to balance the energy needed to heat and sustain the plasma. Modern practice generalizes it to the triple product and to specific gain contours, but the idea is unchanged: below the threshold a plasma loses more than it makes.
Q_sci 3.076 places Hyperion at a defined point above the break-even line but below ignition. It is producing several times more fusion power than the heating input, yet still relies on that external heating — it has not reached the self-sustaining regime where alpha heating alone carries the burn.
Reading the contours honestly
On a temperature-versus-confinement plot, ignition and fixed-gain curves sweep upward; the Hyperion design point sits on the Q 3.4 band, comfortably above break-even. The candid statement is that the machine is designed to a modest, useful gain — enough for a foundry — not to ignition, and the plotted point is a simulation target, not a measurement. Aiming for a moderate gain rather than the highest possible one is deliberate: it keeps the required triple product within reach of a compact machine and leaves the external heating in place as a control handle, both of which suit a device meant to run steadily as a neutron source.
- Lawson: minimum n·tau_E (now triple product) for net fusion energy
- Q 3.076 is above break-even, below ignition
- The plotted design point is a target to be demonstrated, not a result
This page describes a design-and-simulation study, not a built machine. Construction begins Q2 2027; first-of-a-kind first tritium is targeted near 2030. No hardware net-gain is claimed before FOAK.