Stephen Shankland

@stshank

Head of Content at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, a company commercializing fusion energy: clean, safe, affordable, secure. Former sci-tech journalist.

SF Bay Area, CA

blog.cfs.energy

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Stephen Shankland
@stshank
Jun 4
In fusion energy, everything starts with the plasma physics. These five papers lay the foundation for our ARC fusion power plant. 58 authors, 226 pages, and the physics checks out. #FusionEnergy
Commonwealth Fusion Systems
@CFS_energy
Jun 4
Today, we laid the physics foundation for our ARC fusion power plant. ⚛️ With 5 deeply researched papers — validated by independent peer review and published in the Journal of Plasma Physics — we’ve shown we've nailed the scientific basics of producing copious amounts of fusion
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Stephen Shankland
@stshank
12h
And 10 years later, MIT's Alcator C-Mod tokamak is *still* of use. I see new research papers circulating that include what we learned on C-Mod. For example, you can validate computer models to see if your simulations match actual results recorded on C-Mod. #FusionEnergy #tokamak
Commonwealth Fusion Systems
@CFS_energy
13h
In a one-day sprint 10 years ago, researchers at @MIT helped chart the CFS path to commercializing fusion energy — even before CFS was actually founded. That sprint took place during the last day of service for Alcator C-Mod, a type of fusion machine called a tokamak. C-Mod is
Stephen Shankland
@stshank
Sep 28
This glosses over a lot of important points (regulations, camera-only sensor suite...) but has some interesting technical details about Tesla's Cybercab that I wasn't aware of.
An Ode to Tesla's Cybercab
From austinvernon.substack.com
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Stephen Shankland
@stshank
Sep 22
Our fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth TF magnets are now in place in tokamak hall. Our SPARC fusion machine will have 18 total — two sets of nine we'll later join into a single donut-shaped arrangement. #FusionEnergy
Commonwealth Fusion Systems
@CFS_energy
Sep 22
In case you've been wondering — yes, we've been quite busy 🧲. We're now up to eight installed toroidal field (TF) magnets of the 18 total our SPARC fusion machine needs to help confine its superhot plasma. Building the first-of-a-kind of anything presents unique challenges,
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Stephen Shankland
@stshank
Sep 18
Got this poll about AI today. Kind of engagement bait, but also thought-provoking.
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