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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsIs this Good News, or not? Lockheed unveils new (nuclear) energy source
Firstly, I don't have enough of a grasp of the technical nuances of energy creation, but this sounds like it's still "nuclear" energy in some form, with radioactive consequences for all life-forms as we currently know them. Secondly, I do not trust the Lockheed Corporation to be "doing the right thing" vis-a-vis the environment and protecting the web of life we all depend on.
What do you energy science wonks think about this new development? Is it really "new"? Is it really "cleaner"? Etc.
Lockheed announces breakthrough on nuclear fusion energy
*100MW reactor small enough to fit on back of a truck
* Cleaner energy source could be in use within 10 years
theguardian.com, Wednesday 15 October 2014 11.57 EDT
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 Lockheeds 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 Pentagons 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 become increasingly involved in a variety of alternate energy projects, including several ocean energy projects, as it looks to offset a decline in US and European military spending. Lockheeds 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% to 50% increase in energy use over the next generation, McGuire said.
If it proves feasible, Lockheeds 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 Lockheeds 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.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/oct/15/lockheed-breakthrough-nuclear-fusion-energy?CMP=fb_gu
hedgehog
(36,286 posts)I note the story includes the line
"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,"
and as those who have been watching know, we've been 10 years from a functional fusion reactor the last 50 years.
JRT256
(1 post)We are talking about two different things here.
First is to achieve a self sustaining fusion reaction in an experimental reactor. That is what they expect to do in a year.
Second is to design and build a practical commercial power plant that uses fusion to generate power. That is what is going to take 20 years.
CJCRANE
(18,184 posts)of the 21st Century.
Then maybe we wouldn't have to fight over energy resources.
Of course, that still leaves a whole bunch of other stuff to fight over.
NB: I also saw on the RT site that the Russians are working on a fission-fusion reactor.
99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts).. without their usual monopolies on war profiteering to advance the interests of the fossil fuel industry?
I could get behind that.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)This is still in the theoretical stage, and they haven't produce any energy yet. It's still conceptual.
I won't hold my breath yet.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)33 years later little has changed.
MineralMan
(146,308 posts)They're still trying to figure out how to apply it to real life. It will happen at some point, but I wouldn't venture to guess when.
Travis_0004
(5,417 posts)If something goes out of wack, the chain reaction stops and you can restart the reactor once you fix the problem.
The downside is the material is more radioactive initially, but it has a short half life. In 500 years it would be less toxic than coal ash. (Or put it another way, in 125 years its only 4 times as dangerous. ) 500 years is a long time, but its a huge improvement over the thousands of years for uranium.
MannyGoldstein
(34,589 posts)If it works.
Sinistrous
(4,249 posts)File it under wishful thinking. Fusion energy has been *10 years away* for decades.
IDemo
(16,926 posts)it will be used to power death-lasers before it becomes plugged into the power grid.
99th_Monkey
(19,326 posts)That there is something sinister going on behind Lockheed's happy talk.
FLPanhandle
(7,107 posts)Lockheed has some great engineers and the cost/benefit analysis must be favorable for funding it.
However, this is holy grail of energy production and it's not an easy nut to crack.
Baclava
(12,047 posts)I wouldn't hold my breath either.
AngryAmish
(25,704 posts)Except there is the heat, emp, neutron, radiation and sound containment problem.
Baclava
(12,047 posts)Nuclear Fusion Reactors
The earliest patent for a nuclear fusion reaction was made in 1949. Since that time many designs have been tried. One of the problems is to contain the plasma. In stars, the huge mass of the star is enough to allow gravity to confine the plasma. This option is not available on Earth, however, since the plasma is a mixture of positively and negatively charged particles, it can manipulated by a magnetic fields.
The Magnetic Mirror
In the sixties and seventies, machines using magnetic mirror confinement were considered a viable candidate for producing fusion energy. Collisions scattered the charged particles so that the pitch angle was too small for containment. In addition, velocity space instabilities contributed to the escape of the plasma.
The Tokamak
The tokamak uses magnetic fields to confine a plasma to the interior of a torus shaped vacuum chamber. When the plasma has been heated to around 100 million K fusion occurs.
http://www.splung.com/content/sid/5/page/fusion