Lockheed anounces break through in Fusion

I posted this here as it is germaine to a couple of threads here,

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lockheed Martin Corp said on Wednesday it had made a technological breakthrough in developing a power source based on nuclear fusion, and the first reactors, small enough to fit on the back of a truck, could be ready for use in a decade.

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Tom McGuire, who heads the project, said he and a small team had been working on fusion energy at Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works for about four years, but were now going public to find potential partners in industry and government for their work.

Initial work demonstrated the feasibility of building a 100-megawatt reactor measuring seven feet by 10 feet, which could fit on the back of a large truck, and is about 10 times smaller than current reactors, McGuire told reporters.

In a statement, the company, the Pentagon's largest supplier, said it would build and test a compact fusion reactor in less than a year, and build a prototype in five years.

www.yahoo.com...

Lockheed said it had shown it could complete a design, build and test it in as little as a year, which should produce an operational reactor in 10 years, McGuire said. A small reactor could power a U.S. Navy warship, and eliminate the need for other fuel sources that pose logistical challenges.

Expect this technology to disappear into black projects.

a reply to: onequestion
No actually it's coming out of the black world,
I think it is related to a navy fusion project that literally dissappeared about five years ago.

a reply to: onequestion

I would think it's coming out from black projects.

It's just way too profitable.

I hope big oil is quaking in it's boots.

a reply to: grey580

I hope so.

Could this be the real reason that oil prices have tanked so much in the last 5 days? Maybe Lockheed has started liquidating their oil stocks a little early. (woh! a conspiracy theory from me!)

Wow, this is like the fifth time they've made a leap in the new topics today!! At this rate we'll have it by next week.

In the 1950's, a B-36/ B-60 was equipped with a reactor for flight testing. IIRC, it never flew solely on nuclear power but it proved that it was possible to fly a reactor.

The major concern, at that time, was a crash on US soil which would irradiate a large area. Another concern was protecting the crew for long duration flights. It would be interesting to see if the Lockheed engineers have overcome these problems with the smaller reactors.

a reply to: buddah6

They couldn't shield it enough to keep the crew alive and carry a useful payload.

If the crew could be shielded an aircraft could, in theory, could stay airborne indefinitely. Or a ISR drone could remain on station for years.

I would like to know how autonomous this reactor will be. Could you install it in an aircraft with no additional crew members needed to mind it?

a reply to: buddah6

From what I've been told about fusion, you have to work hard to make it go critical. I would imagine they could do without another crew member on some aircraft. If it was ever on a large commercial type, why not bring the FE back to monitor it.

I don't see this effecting big oil any time soon. The coal industry on the other hand...

I bet it's the bussard polywell that the navy was working on until it dissappeared in 2009

The polywell is a type of nuclear fusion reactor that uses an electric field to heat ions to fusion conditions. It is closely related to the magnetic mirror, the fusor, the biconic cusp and the high beta fusion reactor. A set of electromagnets generates a magnetic field which traps electrons. This creates a negative voltage, which attracts positive ions. As the ions accelerate towards the negative center, their kinetic energy rises. If the ions collide in the center, they can fuse.


The polywell is one of many devices that use an electric field to heat ions to fusion conditions.[1] This branch of fusion research is known as inertial electrostatic confinement. The polywell was developed by Robert Bussard, as an improvement over the fusor. His company, EMC2, Inc., developed the initial devices for the U.S. Navy.

en.m.wikipedia.org...




It uses lithium as a fuel and doesn't need the ultra high temps and pressures that tritium/deuterium fusion requires to light

As far as energy goes, the US is sitting pretty, being the worlds largest producer of crude and natural gas products already. Now add to that nuclear fusion and the US will be able to sell off a large amount of the crude and gas to other countries, bringing back the economic dominance the US once had.

a reply to: onequestion

That or it already has existed in the black world, and is just coming out for us peons to use. God knows what they have now if they're willing to let us play with their "old toys".

a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

Remenber that big oil has alot of their eggs in the Natural Gas basket. Fusion energy would pretty much make all of those natuarl gas generation plants obsolete, and electric power would be much cheaper to produce by a factor of ten.

Places like the Baltic States, Europe and the Ukraine would no longer be subject to Russian oil extortion for their every day power needs.

Plus this would feed the eco/green movements clean air campaign as it is a non pollution methode of power production. Imagine all of those gas and coal power plants being replaced.

This could literaly change the world. Even if it takes a decade to get things moving.

a reply to: Zaphod58
I have only flown one airplane with an FE long time ago when I was a freight dog. They used a professional FEs that weren't pilots but mechanics.

I think that most airlines fought hard to cut the crews down to only two for cost savings. They may resistant to FE concept in future aircraft.

a reply to: buddah6

I know they will be. On the other hand the annual savings will more than cover the cost.

originally posted by: palg1
a reply to: Hoosierdaddy71

Remenber that big oil has alot of their eggs in the Natural Gas basket. Fusion energy would pretty much make all of those natuarl gas generation plants obsolete, and electric power would be much cheaper to produce by a factor of ten.

Places like the Baltic States, Europe and the Ukraine would no longer be subject to Russian oil extortion for their every day power needs.

Plus this would feed the eco/green movements clean air campaign as it is a non pollution methode of power production. Imagine all of those gas and coal power plants being replaced.

This could literaly change the world. Even if it takes a decade to get things moving.

Plastics are made from crude and that will not change. Cars will be gas powered until there is a major break thru in batteries. But you are right. Give it 30 years and we will see.

Please direct your comments to one of the ongoing threads.

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