Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Lockheed Martin's Patent for a Fusion Reactor the Size of a Shipping Container

posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday March 28 2018, @01:48AM   Printer-friendly
from the mr.-fusion dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Lockheed Martin has quietly obtained a patent associated with its design for a potentially revolutionary compact fusion reactor, or CFR. If this project has been progressing on schedule, the company could debut a prototype system that size of shipping container, but capable of powering a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier or 80,000 homes, sometime in the next year or so.

The patent, for a portion of the confinement system, or embodiment, is dated Feb. 15, 2018. The Maryland-headquartered defense contractor had filed a provisional claim on April 3, 2013 and a formal application nearly a year later. Our good friend Stephen Trimble, chief of Flightglobal's Americas Bureau, subsequently spotted it and Tweeted out its basic details.

In 2014, the company also made a splash by announcing they were working on the device at all and that it was the responsibility of its Skunk Works advanced projects office in Palmdale, California. At the time, Dr. Thomas McGuire, head of the Skunk Works’ Compact Fusion Project, said the goal was to have a working reactor in five years and production worthy design within 10.

[...] Considering the five year timeline Dr. McGuire put out in 2014 for achieving a workable prototype, maybe we’re due for another big announcement from Lockheed Martin in the near future.

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Lockheed Martin's Patent for a Fusion Reactor the Size of a Shipping Container | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 64 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @03:57PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @03:57PM (#659553)

    According to the world of TED talks, a post-scarcity planet-wide Star Trek utopia is right around the corner, and we're very close to being either solar powered with chloroplasts replacing our mitochondria or uploaded as computer simulations where we'll all live glorious lives of luxury catering to our every vain whim. And some of us will inhabit robot bodies that are capable of carrying our consciousnesses across the vast star ocean.

    It sounds fantastic! Let me know when TED talks stop being wide-eyed hand-wavy bullshit!

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Informative=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Total Score:   1  

  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday March 28 2018, @06:58PM

    by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Wednesday March 28 2018, @06:58PM (#659634) Journal

    Let me know when TED talks stop being wide-eyed hand-wavy bullshit!

    That's your own personal utopia and will not happen.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @08:47PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 28 2018, @08:47PM (#659675)

    chloroplasts replacing our mitochondria

    Midichlorians?