Citing the Limits of Our Models
Every model has a domain where it is trustworthy and edges where it is not; Kronos states the edges rather than extrapolating past them silently.
Where the model stops being reliable
A physics or engineering model is valid within a range of conditions and degrades outside it. Honest use of a model means stating that range. Kronos cites the limits of its models — the regimes where confinement scalings, transport assumptions, or blanket neutronics are well-founded, and where they become extrapolations.
Limits we name
- Confinement scalings calibrated on existing devices, extrapolated to the breeder's regime
- Blanket neutronics that depend on materials and geometry not yet built
- A two-point-to-three-point extrapolation flagged in our burner analysis, not hidden
- Any operating point outside the validated range, labelled as extrapolation
Why volunteer the weaknesses
A model quoted without its limits invites the reader to trust it everywhere, including where it is least reliable. That is how confident-sounding projections quietly rest on their weakest assumption. Naming the edge lets a reader discount appropriately and lets a critic aim at the real soft spot rather than a strawman.
Stating a model's limits does not weaken the strong parts. It concentrates trust where trust is earned, which is exactly where we want it.