Lockheed Martin Now Has a Patent For Its Potentially World Changing Fusion Reactor

[TheOldSchool]

When it first announced the project, the company said it could have a working prototype of the revolutionary power source as early as 2019.

Trump’s going to tax the hell out of it to protect obsolete jobs

 

[westwall]

Ultimately solar power is the final answer to all energy needs of the human race, but fusion is a close second if perfected as it doesn't produce harmful chemical like CO2 or Methane. How they may have solved the conundrum of getting more energy out of the reaction than goes in is the key question. The sun uses natural gravity to power its fusion reactions, to do it on Earth they'd have to reach temps of 100 million degrees. That takes a lot of energy which makes it so hard to get more out than you put in.

That is a laughable assertion. Solar is notoriously inefficient, incredibly toxic to produce, and doesn't work when the Sun ain't shining. Fusion, if it can be perfected would instantly change the energy system dynamics of the world. Anybody who doesn't understand how profound a change that would engender is truly living in the 18th century.

Mr. Westwall seems to be a bit down on solar. However where it has been used, the people seem to like it. And here is a plan that will change it's utility forever.

I have a solar system, unlike you silly people, so actually know its limitations.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

That's pretty cool! I want to be the first one to have a fusion-powered monster truck. Instead of "rollin' coal", I'll be "rollin' Deuterium plasma."

And you might be the first to get a nice fine for your rolling Deuterium plasma. Some moron decided to try and break up some protesters recently with this and ended up with a hefty fine with his black cloud.

Bug Spray

Once you have black, you never come back.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

What I would really like to see is a usable fuel cell where water is turned into hydrogen to power plants for transportation uses.

There may be a new battery on the horizon that uses metalics that changes a solution into and then hydrogen directly into electricity and then back to the original solution. The next 5 years is going to be one wild ride for everything connected to energy.

The Only Oil That Has Peaked Is Snake Oil

Wannabe futurists have been preaching that for the last 45 years.

 

[miketx]

Great news. I just wonder how it will be used to continue to screw over the public.

 

[miketx]

Ultimately solar power is the final answer to all energy needs of the human race, but fusion is a close second if perfected as it doesn't produce harmful chemical like CO2 or Methane. How they may have solved the conundrum of getting more energy out of the reaction than goes in is the key question. The sun uses natural gravity to power its fusion reactions, to do it on Earth they'd have to reach temps of 100 million degrees. That takes a lot of energy which makes it so hard to get more out than you put in.

What makes it possible is that it can be done fairly easily. What makes it dangerous is controlling it. Not being able to control it might make a runaway and you just might lose an entire county to the damage in an instant before it runs out of fuel. It appears that Lockheed thinks they have the control licked.

Imagine a nuclear fission power bomber without the nasty fallout and nasty rays. Something the size of the old B-36 comes to mind except modern.

The problem with your theory is that once the containment is breached the fusion reaction stops.

 

[westwall]

What I would really like to see is a usable fuel cell where water is turned into hydrogen to power plants for transportation uses.

There may be a new battery on the horizon that uses metalics that changes a solution into and then hydrogen directly into electricity and then back to the original solution. The next 5 years is going to be one wild ride for everything connected to energy.

The Only Oil That Has Peaked Is Snake Oil

Wannabe futurists have been preaching that for the last 45 years.

Try over a 100 years..... And still they scream it from the rooftops!

 

[Daryl Hunt]

What I would really like to see is a usable fuel cell where water is turned into hydrogen to power plants for transportation uses.

There may be a new battery on the horizon that uses metalics that changes a solution into and then hydrogen directly into electricity and then back to the original solution. The next 5 years is going to be one wild ride for everything connected to energy.

The Only Oil That Has Peaked Is Snake Oil

Wannabe futurists have been preaching that for the last 45 years.

Try over a 100 years..... And still they scream it from the rooftops!

The problem with using pure hydrogen for anything is, the molecules are the smallest ones and it's a real bear to make a seal to contain them. Sooner or later you are going to have a build up of pure hydrogen in a fender well and blow your right rear side off.

 

[westwall]

What I would really like to see is a usable fuel cell where water is turned into hydrogen to power plants for transportation uses.

There may be a new battery on the horizon that uses metalics that changes a solution into and then hydrogen directly into electricity and then back to the original solution. The next 5 years is going to be one wild ride for everything connected to energy.

The Only Oil That Has Peaked Is Snake Oil

Wannabe futurists have been preaching that for the last 45 years.

Try over a 100 years..... And still they scream it from the rooftops!

The problem with using pure hydrogen for anything is, the molecules are the smallest ones and it's a real bear to make a seal to contain them. Sooner or later you are going to have a build up of pure hydrogen in a fender well and blow your right rear side off.

Back in the old days that was true. Modern technology however, has made that issue a thing of the past.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

What I would really like to see is a usable fuel cell where water is turned into hydrogen to power plants for transportation uses.

There may be a new battery on the horizon that uses metalics that changes a solution into and then hydrogen directly into electricity and then back to the original solution. The next 5 years is going to be one wild ride for everything connected to energy.

The Only Oil That Has Peaked Is Snake Oil

Wannabe futurists have been preaching that for the last 45 years.

Try over a 100 years..... And still they scream it from the rooftops!

The problem with using pure hydrogen for anything is, the molecules are the smallest ones and it's a real bear to make a seal to contain them. Sooner or later you are going to have a build up of pure hydrogen in a fender well and blow your right rear side off.

Back in the old days that was true. Modern technology however, has made that issue a thing of the past.

And yet we don't see it coming out. it's still a problem. If I bounce the system around like it would be in a car leaks will happen. And those leaks are dangerous. There are safer alternatives out there that are coming on line or are already on line.

 

[westwall]

There may be a new battery on the horizon that uses metalics that changes a solution into and then hydrogen directly into electricity and then back to the original solution. The next 5 years is going to be one wild ride for everything connected to energy.

The Only Oil That Has Peaked Is Snake Oil

Wannabe futurists have been preaching that for the last 45 years.

Try over a 100 years..... And still they scream it from the rooftops!

The problem with using pure hydrogen for anything is, the molecules are the smallest ones and it's a real bear to make a seal to contain them. Sooner or later you are going to have a build up of pure hydrogen in a fender well and blow your right rear side off.

Back in the old days that was true. Modern technology however, has made that issue a thing of the past.

And yet we don't see it coming out. it's still a problem. If I bounce the system around like it would be in a car leaks will happen. And those leaks are dangerous. There are safer alternatives out there that are coming on line or are already on line.

That's because it is still more expensive in terms of energy usage to separate out the hydrogen. Until they advance the tech to where you get more energy out of the hydrogen than is used to create it you won't see it commercially available. However, if Lockheed can indeed perfect their fusion technology, that too will be a thing of the past. I don't think anyone here has any idea of just how profound a change will come when fusion power is perfected.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

The Only Oil That Has Peaked Is Snake Oil

Wannabe futurists have been preaching that for the last 45 years.

Try over a 100 years..... And still they scream it from the rooftops!

The problem with using pure hydrogen for anything is, the molecules are the smallest ones and it's a real bear to make a seal to contain them. Sooner or later you are going to have a build up of pure hydrogen in a fender well and blow your right rear side off.

Back in the old days that was true. Modern technology however, has made that issue a thing of the past.

And yet we don't see it coming out. it's still a problem. If I bounce the system around like it would be in a car leaks will happen. And those leaks are dangerous. There are safer alternatives out there that are coming on line or are already on line.

That's because it is still more expensive in terms of energy usage to separate out the hydrogen. Until they advance the tech to where you get more energy out of the hydrogen than is used to create it you won't see it commercially available. However, if Lockheed can indeed perfect their fusion technology, that too will be a thing of the past. I don't think anyone here has any idea of just how profound a change will come when fusion power is perfected.

That's what pretty well killed off the electric car in 190X. The Gas Car was found to be cheaper when you considered just how crude the electric car was. They did not have the technology to build a battery and electric motor to go much further than 10 miles per charge without one hell a long extension cord. Of course, Trolleys did have one hell of a long extension cord and the Trains ended up doing it 50 years later. But cars didn't have that capability until just recently. Add to the fact, the Military tied up the Rare Earth Motor for about 10 years in the 80s and 90s so they could not be developed for commercial uses. Even so, it hasn't been until recently that the batteries have been capable or cheap enough to complete. It's gotten to the point where it's not real tough to produce a family electric car that has a 250 mile range for just about 5000 more than it's gas counterpart. And most of that difference is the batteries themselves. And that is coming down as better batteries are coming on line.

India, China, California, Oregon and a few other states will not allow gas powered cars by 2030 on their highways. Even in Denver, the push for recharging stations are being pushed. Fedex just placed a large order for a fleet of Electric Trucks with Tesla. Funny how we are going back to the way it was in 1903.

The Fusion has been very elusive for decades now. Even with the best solution just overhead. It's going to happen. Maybe not now, but someday. And it will revolutionize even flight.

 

[Erinwltr]

Awesome. Thanks for the comment. Sort of reminds me of the episode on Voyager, The Omega Directive."

 

[Old Rocks]

Until they have a fusion reactor up and running, let us continue to develop wind and solar. Both are now cheaper than even dirty coal by kilowatt produced. And solar has the advantage of being able to use it in very small applications as easily as in mega-watt installations.

 

[martybegan]

Until they have a fusion reactor up and running, let us continue to develop wind and solar. Both are now cheaper than even dirty coal by kilowatt produced. And solar has the advantage of being able to use it in very small applications as easily as in mega-watt installations.

Except at night, and when there is no wind, and when it rains, or there is too much wind, or during the winter in certain parts of the country....

 

[Daryl Hunt]

Until they have a fusion reactor up and running, let us continue to develop wind and solar. Both are now cheaper than even dirty coal by kilowatt produced. And solar has the advantage of being able to use it in very small applications as easily as in mega-watt installations.

Except at night, and when there is no wind, and when it rains, or there is too much wind, or during the winter in certain parts of the country....

For solar, even when it's overcast, you will get an 80% supply. In the rain, it might drop to 50%. By adding batteries you can charge the batteries during the peak sun times and use the batteries when the sun is not out.

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

What I would really like to see is a usable fuel cell where water is turned into hydrogen to power plants for transportation uses.

There may be a new battery on the horizon that uses metalics that changes a solution into and then hydrogen directly into electricity and then back to the original solution. The next 5 years is going to be one wild ride for everything connected to energy.

The Only Oil That Has Peaked Is Snake Oil

Wannabe futurists have been preaching that for the last 45 years.

Try over a 100 years..... And still they scream it from the rooftops!

Sooner or later you are going to have a build up of pure hydrogen in a fender well and blow your right rear side off.

IED 2 KO PC

Can we time it so it grenades Antiffy protesters?

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

Sort of reminds me of the episode on Voyager, The Omega Directive."

Geektopia

Fictional science

 

[westwall]

Try over a 100 years..... And still they scream it from the rooftops!

The problem with using pure hydrogen for anything is, the molecules are the smallest ones and it's a real bear to make a seal to contain them. Sooner or later you are going to have a build up of pure hydrogen in a fender well and blow your right rear side off.

Back in the old days that was true. Modern technology however, has made that issue a thing of the past.

And yet we don't see it coming out. it's still a problem. If I bounce the system around like it would be in a car leaks will happen. And those leaks are dangerous. There are safer alternatives out there that are coming on line or are already on line.

That's because it is still more expensive in terms of energy usage to separate out the hydrogen. Until they advance the tech to where you get more energy out of the hydrogen than is used to create it you won't see it commercially available. However, if Lockheed can indeed perfect their fusion technology, that too will be a thing of the past. I don't think anyone here has any idea of just how profound a change will come when fusion power is perfected.

That's what pretty well killed off the electric car in 190X. The Gas Car was found to be cheaper when you considered just how crude the electric car was. They did not have the technology to build a battery and electric motor to go much further than 10 miles per charge without one hell a long extension cord. Of course, Trolleys did have one hell of a long extension cord and the Trains ended up doing it 50 years later. But cars didn't have that capability until just recently. Add to the fact, the Military tied up the Rare Earth Motor for about 10 years in the 80s and 90s so they could not be developed for commercial uses. Even so, it hasn't been until recently that the batteries have been capable or cheap enough to complete. It's gotten to the point where it's not real tough to produce a family electric car that has a 250 mile range for just about 5000 more than it's gas counterpart. And most of that difference is the batteries themselves. And that is coming down as better batteries are coming on line.

India, China, California, Oregon and a few other states will not allow gas powered cars by 2030 on their highways. Even in Denver, the push for recharging stations are being pushed. Fedex just placed a large order for a fleet of Electric Trucks with Tesla. Funny how we are going back to the way it was in 1903.

The Fusion has been very elusive for decades now. Even with the best solution just overhead. It's going to happen. Maybe not now, but someday. And it will revolutionize even flight.

That is certainly their stated goal. And if fusion can be brought on line then hydrogen fuel cells will supplant EV's. EV's are always going to be less efficient than ICE's until Nikola Tesla's broadcast power system can be developed where you get your electricity via antenna. Get that tech working and EV's will sweep all other motive systems off the road. And rightfully so.

 

[Daryl Hunt]

What I would really like to see is a usable fuel cell where water is turned into hydrogen to power plants for transportation uses.

There may be a new battery on the horizon that uses metalics that changes a solution into and then hydrogen directly into electricity and then back to the original solution. The next 5 years is going to be one wild ride for everything connected to energy.

The Only Oil That Has Peaked Is Snake Oil

Wannabe futurists have been preaching that for the last 45 years.

Try over a 100 years..... And still they scream it from the rooftops!

Sooner or later you are going to have a build up of pure hydrogen in a fender well and blow your right rear side off.

IED 2 KO PC

Can we time it so it grenades Antiffy protesters?

How about putting a bunch of it in the wheel wells of those idiots doing rolling black smoke.