A small, modular, efficient fusion plant

[rpm]

A small, modular, efficient fusion plant

New design could finally help to bring the long-sought power source closer to reality

 

[garyc]

And then there is the compact fusion reactor that Lockheed is working on that they hope will be able to fit on the back of a truck.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/products/compact-fusion.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_beta_fusion_reactor

 

[Swa]

And it's just 30 years away, and always will be. Just like cheaper and better batteries that are always next gen and not current gen. Here's an idea, first find a practical way to get more energy from fusion than you expend. Without it all these ideas are as useful as an icecream toaster.

 

[TheGuy]

And it's just 30 years away, and always will be. Just like cheaper and better batteries that are always next gen and not current gen. Here's an idea, first find a practical way to get more energy from fusion than you expend. Without it all these ideas are as useful as an icecream toaster.

Did you even ready the article? The reactor they are working on can push out 3 times the amount of energy consumed.

 

[Arthur]

The book I got as a high school science prize says fusion power plants were not expected to be common until the 1990s.

 

[Swa]

Did you even ready the article? The reactor they are working on can push out 3 times the amount of energy consumed.

It can push out 3 times the energy of current reactors. Pushing out more energy than is consumed is an extrapolation. So far the hardest part hasn't been confinement of plasma but rather the generation of it. Fusion simply doesn't yield the same energy on a regular basis as it costs to set it in motion. The only way it's been achieved so far is with super powerful lasers but it's still too inconsistent for commercial use.

What's needed is new ways and materials that give a better yield. So yes you may have your small and modular reactor. Still useless without a soccer field sized laser to make use of it.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

I thought fusion power is a myth,

Been attempted for 4seconds or something like that.

I belive fusion power if its mastered will allow humanity to finally leave earth and start colonizing space...

 

[battletoad]

It can push out 3 times the energy of current reactors. Pushing out more energy than is consumed is an extrapolation. ...

Right now, as designed, the reactor should be capable of producing about three times as much electricity as is needed to keep it running, but the design could probably be improved to increase that proportion to about five or six times, Sorbom says.

So far, no fusion reactor has produced as much energy as it consumes, so this kind of net energy production would be a major breakthrough in fusion technology, the team says.

Not sure where you got the idea that its 3 times the next best fusion reactor.

However, "keep it running" in my mind doesn't cover the initialisation. Although, down the line it would go into nett positive territory.

 

[konfab]

Here is quite a technical update on what Lockheed are doing with theirs.
http://nextbigfuture.com/2015/08/lockheed-martin-compact-fusion-reactor.html

Personally I think they have the right approach to the problem.