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Author Topic: Lockheed says makes breakthrough on fusion energy project  (Read 1476 times)
Wilikon (OP)
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October 16, 2014, 06:08:02 AM
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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.

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.

In recent years, Lockheed has gotten increasingly involved in a variety of alternate energy projects, including several ocean energy projects, as it looks to offset a decline in U.S. and European military spending.

Lockheed's work on fusion energy could help in developing new power sources amid increasing global conflicts over energy, and as projections show there will be a 40 percent to 50 percent increase in energy use over the next generation, McGuire said.

If it proves feasible, Lockheed's work would mark a key breakthrough in a field that scientists have long eyed as promising, but which has not yet yielded viable power systems. The effort seeks to harness the energy released during nuclear fusion, when atoms combine into more stable forms.

"We can make a big difference on the energy front," McGuire said, noting Lockheed's 60 years of research on nuclear fusion as a potential energy source that is safer and more efficient than current reactors based on nuclear fission.

Lockheed sees the project as part of a comprehensive approach to solving global energy and climate change problems.

Compact nuclear fusion would produce far less waste than coal-powered plants since it would use deuterium-tritium fuel, which can generate nearly 10 million times more energy than the same amount of fossil fuels, the company said.

Ultra-dense deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, is found in the earth's oceans, and tritium is made from natural lithium deposits.

It said future reactors could use a different fuel and eliminate radioactive waste completely.

McGuire said the company had several patents pending for the work and was looking for partners in academia, industry and among government laboratories to advance the work.

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.

U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers run on nuclear power, but they have large fission reactors on board that have to be replaced on a regular cycle.

"What makes our project really interesting and feasible is that timeline as a potential solution," McGuire said.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/15/us-lockheed-fusion-idUSKCN0I41EM20141015


---------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Fusion! Finally!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HYoq6vIVXc


solex
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October 16, 2014, 06:15:23 AM
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Saw this reported in SciAm, but not even with basic information as to how they are doing fusion. The only viable method in prototype is via concentrated laser heating and magnetic confinement, something with a far larger setup than they describe. Hope this isn't another "cold fusion" debacle.

Bonam
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October 16, 2014, 06:45:53 AM
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More info here:

http://aviationweek.com/technology/skunk-works-reveals-compact-fusion-reactor-details

It's a tandem mirror configuration. Prior experiments with this configuration suffered from excessive end losses, preventing the plasma in the middle from being able to reach the needed temperature and/or density. It looks like Lockheed Martin wants to address this issue through "recirculation", an idea that they did not elaborate on. Whatever the details, it is likely they will run into unanticipated challenges throughout their development, as has every other fusion experiment. Lockheed is one of many companies trying to privately develop fusion power presently, all pursuing varying avenues, although they do have much more money than most competitors, depending on management's level of commitment to this project.
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December 11, 2014, 06:27:52 AM
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Every time I read one of these articles there's always the phrase "10 - 15 years until commercial feasibility". 10 more years has always been said on fusion technology ever since the 40's. I wouldn't hold my breath too long. Give us working proof that this is commercially viable and I'll be listening. Until then, don't get your hopes up everyone.

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December 11, 2014, 10:02:45 AM
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This thread reminded me about a plasma process that converts garbage into clean energy. The project is operational. The device used is relatively small. I believe these units are in use in a few different locations throughout the western hemisphere. A portion of one website article about them:
Quote
While the technology of processing materials with plasma has been around for some time now, Joseph Longo, CEO and founder of Startech Environmental Corporation has developed a device that can handle pretty much any type of waste put into it and turn it into a clean source of energy.


http://www.greengeek.ca/plasma-process-converts-garbage-into-clean-energy/

Smiley

EDIT:
Quote
The process produces enough synthetic gas to power the unit, as well as a surplus which could be sold directly or used to generate excess electricity, providing an additional source of revenue for the facility.

Cure your cancer at home. Ivermectin, fenbendazole, methylene blue, and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) are chief among parasite drugs. Find out that all disease is based in parasites or pollution, and what you can easily do about it - https://www.huldaclark.com/, https://thedrardisshow.com/, https://thehighwire.com/.
painlord2k
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December 11, 2014, 12:35:40 PM
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The e-cat of Andrea Rossi and Prof. Focardi (deceased), is already there and have the backing of a large Venture Capital fund (Cherokee) specialized in energy production. They (Cherokee) founded Industrial heat (IH) to continue the development of the e-cat and they have, already, show it working a few times. They also had a couple of tests from an independent group of scientists from the University of Bologna and Uppsala.

Support to it come also from competitors in the field like Prof. Celani (demonstrated an experiment at National Instruments convention), Prof. Christos Stremmenos and others.

The reports made by these scientists were mad using e-cat not build directly by Rossi, but built by the people of Industrial Heat without Rossi help, just the know-how.
Fine incandescent tube working for 30 days in a row and then switched off.

First report 2013 (with photos)


Second report 2014 (with photos)
Cold fusion reactor verified by third-party researchers, seems to have 1 million times the energy density of gasoline]http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/156393-cold-fusion-reactor-independently-verified-has-10000-times-the-energy-density-of-gas[url]

Second report 2014 (with photos)
Cold fusion reactor verified by third-party researchers, seems to have 1 million times the energy density of gasoline
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/191754-cold-fusion-reactor-verified-by-third-party-researchers-seems-to-have-1-million-times-the-energy-density-of-gasoline[/url]

Lockheed and others are just accelerating the pace of development because they want to stay relevant in the field. But they wrote about a prototype available in the next 5 years. In this field is like eternity.
Rossi came out in 2011 with a working prototype barely able to boil water and barely able to control the reaction and needing continual energy input. Now he gave to the boffins to test a device able to get to 1200 °C, able to get shut off at command, with an controllable and tunable output. He claim to have a 1 MW reactor tested by a client at his facility for actual use (so, not 3 days or 30 days but many months).
At this pace, he will be selling the HW to industries and people well before Lockheed have any working prototype to show.


Lockheed should go and finance Prof. Woodward research and Paul March developments of the same research about Mach Principle and the Woodward Effect.
Coupled with a decent energy source they could make a good spaceship.
cryptocoiner
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December 11, 2014, 12:43:41 PM
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bullshit

painlord2k
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December 11, 2014, 01:22:01 PM
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bullshit

A like your arguments.
Lethn
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December 11, 2014, 01:58:56 PM
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Saw this reported in SciAm, but not even with basic information as to how they are doing fusion. The only viable method in prototype is via concentrated laser heating and magnetic confinement, something with a far larger setup than they describe. Hope this isn't another "cold fusion" debacle.

Cold fusion is a very promising idea, but anyone making claims of having gotten it working should be peer reviewed with extreme scrutiny.
blablahblah
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December 11, 2014, 09:59:53 PM
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Saw this reported in SciAm, but not even with basic information as to how they are doing fusion. The only viable method in prototype is via concentrated laser heating and magnetic confinement, something with a far larger setup than they describe. Hope this isn't another "cold fusion" debacle.

Cold fusion is a very promising idea, but anyone making claims of having gotten it working should be peer reviewed with extreme scrutiny.

How does this "extreme scrutiny" work compared to the "normal scrutiny" that scientists apply elsewhere? Is it some kind of emotion? Wink

LENR is a fact, but the phenomenon is also an order of magnitude more difficult to study than mere radio-activity or fission.

www.lenr-canr.org/acrobat/StormsEanexplanat.pdf

This article criticises some of the bad science done in recent years, but it also takes a practical approach with a process of elimination and provides some testable ideas.
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