# OpenStar's Junior confines plasma around a levitating half-tonne superconducting magnet

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/stories/openstar-s-junior-confines-plasma-around-a-levitating-half-tonne-f65b9eb7
Date: 17 Feb 2026
About: [OpenStar Technologies](https://technooptimist.io/companies/openstar-technologies.md) · [Junior levitated dipole](https://technooptimist.io/energy/junior-levitated-dipole.md)
Original source: https://interestingengineering.com/energy/first-plasma-confinement-via-levitated-magnet

OpenStar floated the 0.5-tonne superconducting magnet of its Junior prototype in a 5 m vacuum chamber, with no mechanical support, while confining plasma heated above 1 million °C. Earlier runs held the magnet on arms, which cool the plasma and make it unstable. The device does not produce net energy.

## Key facts

- Half-tonne magnet levitated with no physical contact.
- Plasma above 1,000,000 °C; no energy gain.
- First plasmas, with the magnet supported, came in late 2024.

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