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Oct 18 2014 01:56pm
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/15/us-lockheed-fusion-idUSKCN0I41EM20141015
Quote
(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 theback 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.


It's often said the Military-Industrial Complex is detrimental to society. They tie up funding and money in capacities such as over-production (M1 Abrams production is a good example). But it's important to remember the defense industry plays an important role in developing technology. Fusion advances have been stagnant for 60 years, but if we are to believe Lockheed Martin, they believe viable fusion reactors will be ready by the mid-2020s.

Fusion is the future of energy production. It's the next big step in humanities advancement. State run efforts have been slow. We should encourage military usage of emerging technologies to motivate large companies like Lockheed to keep doing this.
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Oct 18 2014 01:58pm
Any idea what the danger would be of a fusion reactor based car getting in an accident? In comparison to current car accident danger.

Haven't look into nuclear fusion hardly at all so...
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Oct 18 2014 02:03pm
Brace yourselves for post-scarcity guys, it could come in our lifetimes.
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Oct 18 2014 02:05pm
Very big break through indeed gonna be following this. However the more nuclear based reactors this planet has more likely we are to have a disaster curious to know if they have improved safety features aswell
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Oct 18 2014 02:08pm
Quote (Skinned @ Oct 18 2014 03:03pm)
Brace yourselves for post-scarcity guys, it could come in our lifetimes.


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Oct 18 2014 02:17pm
Quote (Mangix @ Oct 18 2014 02:58pm)
Any idea what the danger would be of a fusion reactor based car getting in an accident? In comparison to current car accident danger.

Haven't look into nuclear fusion hardly at all so...


I don't think the plan is to put them in cars, I think he was just using that for a scale.
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Oct 18 2014 02:17pm
What we should do is dig up all the fossil fuels and burn them so those backwards republicans won't have a choice but to use this tech their defense spending brought us.
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Oct 18 2014 02:28pm
I was going to post something about how the military industrial complex defeated climate change but I decided against it. Lockheed has a very good R&D group and I've always been impressed with their products. While the nuclear engineering experts remain skeptical, it may be promising. We'll see...we're a decade or two away from a feasible product according to them.
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Oct 18 2014 02:29pm
Quote (Caedus @ 18 Oct 2014 19:56)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/15/us-lockheed-fusion-idUSKCN0I41EM20141015


It's often said the Military-Industrial Complex is detrimental to society. They tie up funding and money in capacities such as over-production (M1 Abrams production is a good example). But it's important to remember the defense industry plays an important role in developing technology. Fusion advances have been stagnant for 60 years, but if we are to believe Lockheed Martin, they believe viable fusion reactors will be ready by the mid-2020s.

Fusion is the future of energy production. It's the next big step in humanities advancement. State run efforts have been slow. We should encourage military usage of emerging technologies to motivate large companies like Lockheed to keep doing this.


Or you could spend more on research and development and less on military? State run efforts have only been slow due to the massive difference in budget between them and the military who also have full access to the discretionary fund.

This post was edited by Scaly on Oct 18 2014 02:30pm
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Oct 18 2014 02:30pm
Quote (Caedus @ Oct 18 2014 03:56pm)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/15/us-lockheed-fusion-idUSKCN0I41EM20141015


It's often said the Military-Industrial Complex is detrimental to society. They tie up funding and money in capacities such as over-production (M1 Abrams production is a good example). But it's important to remember the defense industry plays an important role in developing technology. Fusion advances have been stagnant for 60 years, but if we are to believe Lockheed Martin, they believe viable fusion reactors will be ready by the mid-2020s.

Fusion is the future of energy production. It's the next big step in humanities advancement. State run efforts have been slow. We should encourage military usage of emerging technologies to motivate large companies like Lockheed to keep doing this.


It 100% is...

If you honestly think the trillions burned up through that garbage machine couldn't have had much more success in technological breakthroughs by funding non military companies you're even dumber than I already believed.
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