Lockheeds skunk works has a patent for a portable fusion. Lockheed martins skunk works is building a new, more capable test reactor as it continues to move ahead with its ambitious compact fusion reactor program, or. So a fusion reactor on a manned plane still has the same mass issue even if it were compact enough to fit. The promise of nuclear fusion to provide clean and safe energy, while having abundant fuel resources continues to drive global research and development. This book provides a decent introduction to nuclear fusion but it hardly competes with the wikipedia page on the topic. Lockheed martins skunk works is building a new, more capable test reactor as it continues to move ahead with its ambitious compact fusion. The dream of nuclear fusion is on the brink of being realised, according to a major new us initiative that says it will put fusion power on the grid within 15 years. Lockheed working on trucksize fusion reactor maryland. It is responsible for a number of aircraft designs, including the u2, the lockheed sr71 blackbird, the lockheed f117 nighthawk, lockheed martin f22 raptor, and the lockheed martin f35 lightning ii, which are used in the air forces of. The details of the cfr configuration will be discussed along with a status of the current plasma confinement experiments underway at lockheed.
Skunk works has already built four fusion test reactors and is planning a fifth called the t5. Germanys wildly complex fusion reactor is actually working. Skunk works aims for commercial, compact fusion reactor within. Lockheed martin doubles down on cold fusion the motley fool. Licensing fusionreactor is a commercial product and requires a license to use. Lockheed martin corporation is on its way to develop a new reactor, a power source based on nuclear fusion, called the compact fusion reactor. Will lockheed martin change the world with its new fusion. Germanys wildly complex fusion reactor is actually working the wendelstein 7x reactor, which uses a complex design called a stellerator. For lockheed martin to get cold fusion to work, it needs to solve three main problems. A secretive unit that designed the stealth fighter jet is developing a reactor to harness nuclear fusion. Lockheed martins skunk works is building a new, more capable test reactor as it continues to move ahead with its ambitious compact fusion reactor program, or cfr. Lockheed martin skunkworks is developing a compact fusion reactor concept, cfr. Skunk works plan is to create progressively larger test reactors culminating in the development of an initial 100megawatt production version capable of powering a ship or around 80,000 homes.
Skunk works, which has been working on the cfr project since 2014, designed the t5 experimental fusion reactor to manage the behavior of. Lockheed also envisages versions capable of powering large cargo and transport aircrafton and off earth. Skunk works is an official pseudonym for lockheed martins advanced development programs adp, formerly called lockheed advanced development projects. I was able to get a hold of their posters and i wrote this summary article. They are working on over 500 projects, from radar coatings to war games to compact fusion reactors to a mach 6 spyplane. A reactor small enough to fit on a truck could provide enough power for a small city of up to 100,000 people.
Scientist behind the navys ufo patents has now filed. Lockheed martins legendary skunk works engineering division is developing a compact fusion reactor that uses cylindrical magnetic fields to confine the fusion reaction instead of the donut. The nice thing about a fusion reaction is that if somehow it would go out of control, it would just stop itself automatically, saskia mordijck, who studies magnetic confinement fusion plasmas at the. Mcguire, who heads the project, said he and a small team had been working on fusion energy at lockheeds secretive skunk works for about.
If it works, the t5 could create fusion for electricity generation. On the ongoing skunk works working on the most advanced and secret development division of lockheed martin working on a compact fusion reactor became known in 2014. Lockheeds skunk works building bigger fusion reactor. Teen builds working nuclear fusion reactor in memphis home. Lockheed martin announces its skunk works wants to build a fusion. The novel magnetic cusp configuration would allow for. Lockheed skunk works developing trucksized fusion reactor. Lockheeds skunk works has a patent for a portable fusion reactor design on. Lockheed martin compact fusion reactor update with video. The us naval air warfare center aircraft division filed a patent for a compact fusion reactor cfr last month, one that claims to improve upon the shortcomings of the lockheed martin skunkworks. Nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun and the stars, is heralded as the ultimate energy source for the future of mankind. Lockheed martin progresses on nuclear fusion power plant.
The key to the skunk works system is their tubelike design, which allows them to bypass one of the limitations of classic fusion reactor. Lockheeds skunk works developing trucksize fusion reactor the. This is essential for the use of fusion in all kind of uses, not only in huge, costly power plants. In 2014, lockheed martin announced that it was working on a nuclear fusion reactor small enough to fit on the back of a truck. Weve been hearing promises of nuclear fusion as a widespread source of safe, clean energy since the 1970s. The us navy has authorized the publication of a patent for a nuclear fusion reactor that can both generate enormous quantities of power and yet be small enough to be fitted on mobile platforms, including spacecraft. Is lockheed martin working on a nuclear fusionpowered. When it comes to 14yearjackson oswalt, his time is spent in a laboratory working on a nuclear fusion. April 26, 2018 defense contractor lockheed martin was recently awarded a patent for a novel design of compact nuclear fusion reactor, a device presumably small enough to be housed in a standard shipping container. Aimed at bringing the energy of the stars to earth, iter is funded by the major economic powers china.
Researchers will use the t5 to see if skunk works fusion design can contain and control super hot, highly energized plasma. This design lets it to be 10 times smaller at the same power output of somewhat like the iter, which is anticipated to produce 500 mw in the 2020s. Lockheed martin has filed a patent for a revolutionary compact fusion reactor. The fusion reaction biproducts are also common, nonpolluting. If something goes wrong and that field goes away, fusion. Many said the device could solve the worlds energy crisis. The process for categorizing fighter aircraft into generations began in the 1990s but was not a system universally used until more recently.
The device is reportedly far safer, cleaner, powerful and more compact than existent fission nuclear systems, which split atoms to release energy instead of fusing them, as this reactor does. The long wait for fusion power may be coming to an end. Fusion home energy reactor is already a thing in movies although in the tiein books there is a hint that the mr fusion powered delorean is not exactly s. Navy has filed a potentially revolutionary patent application for a radical new compact fusion reactor that claims to improve upon the shortcomings of. Skunk works simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Mit achieves breakthrough in nuclear fusion helium3. Lockheed martins skunk works advanced development arm has made progress toward its goal of building a compact fusion reactor that may be used to power large aircraft or a town of 80k homes, the drive reported friday skunk works, which has been working on the cfr project since 2014, designed the t5 experimental fusion reactor to manage the behavior of highenergy plasma and power. The program was formerly called lockheed advanced development projects. Some variation has developed in subclassifications used by different aerospace organizations and countries, though all follow the same general structure. Lockheeds skunk works arm moves ahead with compact fusion. Skunk works is an official pseudonym for lockheed martins advanced development programs. These includes the u2, the lockheed sr71 blackbird, the lockheed f117 nighthawk, lockheed martin f22 raptor, and the lockheed martin f35 lightning ii. Then the head of the compact fusion project, thomas mcguire, said that a pilot installation will be created in 2014, the prototype in 2019, and the working sample in 2024m. Lockheed martin announces compact fusion reactor plans fusenet.
The fusion reactor next door entrepreneurs are taking up the search for a near limitless energy source and seeking investors willing to put money behind. New nuclear fusion reactor design may be a breakthrough. Yet we must keep in mind the fact that we have heard fusion reactor claims many times before, and other research and development tanks are working on other fusion systems as this is being written. Lockheed martin and its infamous skunk works topsecret technology. Lockheed martin has confirmed a breakthrough in fusion. Hidden away in the secret depths of the skunk works, a lockheed martin research team has been working quietly on a nuclear energy concept they believe has the potential to meet, if not eventually decrease, the worlds insatiable demand for power dubbed the compact fusion reactor cfr, the device is conceptually safer, cleaner and more powerful than much larger, current nuclear systems. Nuclear fusion reactors have existed for years, but none. The skunk works recent compact fusion reactor design. First the big one it needs to get a selfsustaining fusion reaction going. Lockheed martins secretive skunk works unit, which designed the u2 spy plane and f117 stealth fighter jet, is developing a reactor to harness nuclear fusion, the process that powers. Lockheeds skunk works promises working fusion reactor by. Patents for the reactor were filed in 2014 by the companys advanced research division, skunk works, with the aim of having its compact fusion reactor cfr ready by 2019.
Us navy patent for nuclear fusion reactor supports claims. A fusion reactor that is operating needs shielding against neutron radiation much the same as a fission reactor does. Putting plasma to work diy fusion reactors, magnetrons and more. Nuclear fusion is the process of fusing atomic nuclei, which can unleash vast amounts of energy.
Lockheed martins babione on skunk works 75 years of gamechanging innovation duration. I honestly believe that this book could have been written in less than 2 weeks by any college student. The fusion power plants we have developed generate fusion by a very strong magnetic field crushing the hydrogen. Lockheed martins new fusion reactor might change humanity. Todays skunk works employs 3,700 employees at facilities in palmdale, california, marietta, georgia, and fort worth, texas. Skunk works exotic fusion reactor program moves forward. What happened to the fusion reactor by lockheed martin. Nuclear fusion on brink of being realised, say mit. Its reactor induces fusion in a superhot plasma of hydrogen fuel suspended by magnetic fields inside a doughnutshaped device called a tokamak the word is. If it succeeds where past fusion reactor plans have failed, the technology portends a. In november, lockheedmartin presented two posters on the cfr at the 2016 aps meeting in san diego. However, the goal of reaching socalled breakeven energy conditions, whereby the energy produced from a. The energy comes from emc2ing a couple neutrons per reaction. The novel magnetic cusp configuration would allow for stable plasmas in a geometry amenable to economical power plants and power sources.
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