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On moving fast and breaking things
Craig Piercycpiercy@ans.org
So much of what is happening in federal nuclear policy these days seems driven by a common approach popularized in the technology sector. Silicon Valley calls it “move fast and break things,” a phrase originally associated with Facebook’s early culture under Mark Zuckerberg. The idea emerged in the early 2000s as software companies discovered that rapid iteration, frequent experimentation, and a willingness to tolerate failure could dramatically accelerate innovation. This philosophy helped drive the growth of the social media, smartphones, cloud computing, and digital platforms that now underpin modern economic and social life.
Today, that mindset is also influencing federal nuclear policy. The Trump administration views accelerated nuclear deployment as part of a broader competition with China for technological and AI leadership. In that context, it seems willing to accept greater operational risk in pursuit of strategic advantage and long-term economic and security objectives.
R. F. Gandy, M. A. Henderson, J. D. Hanson, S. F. Knowlton, T. A. Schneider, D. G. Swanson, J. R. Gary
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 18 | Number 2 | September 1990 | Pages 281-290
Technical Paper | Experimental Device | doi.org/10.13182/FST90-A29300
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The Compact Auburn Torsatron (CAT) is a low-aspect ratio, continuous coil, toroidal magnetic fusion device. It has two main helical coils: an l = 2, m = 5 coil and an l = 1, m = 5 coil. The machine has a major radius of 53 cm, an average plasma radius of 11 cm, and a steady-state magnetic field of 1 kG. It was designed using an optimization scheme that employs the coil positions and coil winding laws as parameters. Once CAT is operational, the research program will focus on the study of magnetic flux surfaces and ion cyclotron heating. The choices and compromises encountered in building a low-aspect ratio torsatron are discussed.
