Lochkeed-Martin is good at making war planes, such as the F35 Strikefighter, which is the costliest fighter plane ever made and has a lots of problems with its software. I've read it was outclassed by an F16 in a simulated dogfight.
Tullio

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Before dissing L/M too much you might also want to recall it was Lockheed that designed and built the SR-71 which still holds many speed and altitude records. Lockheed also makes the F-22 which is probably the best interceptor anywhere. I think the F-35 has gotten to the point where they have to make it work or a lot of people will be made to look very foolish. The F-35 is another attempt to create a single aircraft that can take on the role of several different types using just one basic airframe. In the past when Lockheed was given a task to do they usually ended up with a system that did it better than anyone had hoped. For that reason, even though I have doubts about their capability to invent a workable fusion reactor, I still hold forth some hope that they may succeed where others have fallen short of the goal.

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Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

Can someone sum up this discussion. Comment on the current status, on going work and the future prospects for the likelihood of fusion producing commercial quantities of power. Also, why it might be better or cheaper than various forms of Fusion.

I always thought Lockheed Martin was all about aeronautics.
But apparantly not.
Lockheed-Martin Energy http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/what-we-do/energy.html

There is this big international project in France, ITER. It is beyond schedule and well above its budget, which has gone from 7 billion dollars to 15 billion dollars and up. It is difficult to judge from outside. "Nature" magazine has written several critical articles on it. But, in any case, it is just a "proof of concept" experiment, this means it will not produce any electricity. It should be followed by a prototype reactor, provided it achieves breakeven, thus producing more energy than that it consumes. It is now directed by a French manager. France has an excellent record in fission reactors, but was forced to abandon the Superphenix breeder (called Surgenerateur in French) for safety reasons.
As a personal memory, once in Como Emilio Segre' told me "breeders are a folly". Ipse dixit.
Tullio

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There is also the Joint European Torus (JET) in Culham, UK. It went into operation in 1983 and remains the largest fusion device in the world.
The so-called break-even point has almost been reached...

The major physics issues in the world-wide fusion program centres are: improvement of the energy confinement time, plasma stability, particle and power exhaust, and α particle (helium nuclei) heating.

Fusion as a future power source.
Recent achievements and prospects.
https://www.euro-fusion.org/wpcms/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/energy_eu_wec01.pdf

The aim of the present paper is to present the current status of fusion research and to describe the steps ahead that will lead to power generation. First, we introduce the principle of nuclear fusion and explain how in a future power plant based on this principle the extremely hot ionised hydrogen gas (“plasma”) is contained in a magnetic field cage (“magnetic confinement”). We then go on to describe the advances made in fusion research in the last few years and note that the so-called break-even point has almost been reached at the Joint European research facility JET in Culham, UK. Subsequently, the factors affecting the design of a future fusion power plant, its safety and environmental features as well as the possible costs of fusion power, are discussed. Finally, we consider the role which fusion might play invarious energy scenarios in the second half of the century

Fission- we have it, it works but in the long run there is a big price to pay that is currently being postponed. What to do with the waste products so that nobody in the future will be put in harm's way long after the last fission reactor is history.

Fusion- we theoretically know how to make it work (meaning getting more useful energy out than is put in) but so far the problems are proving almost impossible to overcome. Once the energy production problems are solved do we have the expertise to manage that production over the long haul and to prevent potential accidents that might make past disasters pale in comparison. Or, will it be so safe that shutting down is as easy as throwing a switch.

Assuming that the planet's population continues to grow and need energy, when the oil, gas and coal run low, we are going to need more than solar panels and wind turbines and all of the other "green" power sources combined can generate to continue living in the manor we have become used to. So, by then, I hope the fusion puzzle will be solved.

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Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.

In 2013 Italy has covered 40% of its electricity needs by renewable sources, which includes hydroelectricity. Modern hydroelectric power stations can pump water up at night, where there is an oversupply of electricity by fission reactors and thermal power stations. On the theregister.co.uk there is a description of such a plant in Wales.
Tullio

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Your exception has been noted.

For your entertainment here are some other things that I poo poo:

Dyson sphere in construction around the star KIC 8462852
UFO's as alien spacecraft
The pyramids were built by aliens
A space elevator can be built with known technology
Fusion as providing world wide power in the foreseeable future--it was the power source of the future 50 years ago and will be 50 years from now as well.

I have to go now and help my wife prepare a Pu Pu platter for our Hawaiian night.

Actually I am quite interested in why Fusion should be pursued for replacement of fossil and fission power plants. What are it's promises and advantages given the difficulty of containing the Plasma.

A fusion reactor needs deuterium and tritium as fuel, that is two hydrogen isotopes. No need to enrich natural uranium in U235 content in big and costly enrichment plants, which can be used also to produce uranium enriched enough to make bombs.
Tullio

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I have to go now and help my wife prepare a Pu Pu platter for our Hawaiian night.

PU ? Don't go eating plutonium not very good for you

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Life is what you make of it :-)

When i'm good i'm very good , but when i'm bad i'm shi#eloads better ;-) In't I " buttercups " p.m.s.l at authoritie !!;-)

Thank you Tullio.

My understanding is that naturally occurring uranium is about .7% U-235. This is enriched to about 3%-5% for use in a reactor to boil water to high pressure steam to drive turbines to produce electricity. A-Bombs require 90% or more purity.

Plutonium 239 is a by-product of a fission reactor.

Some reactors, like the Canadian Candu, moderated with heavy water, can use natural uranium as fuel. So did the ill-fated CIRENE reactor, designed by prof. Mario Silvestri of the Milan Polytechnic, which was built at Latina by Enel, the State utility, and never started, because of the referendum held in Italy after Chernobyl. Prof. Silvestri asked the authorities to let him try at least the software that his team had developed, but he was denied. He died soon after.
Tullio

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ITER website https://www.iter.org
There are few news from them...

And more delays...

The updated calendars for First Plasma and for subsequent full power operation in deuterium-tritium (originally scheduled for 2020 and 2027) were reported to the ITER Council in November 2015 following an eight-month, project-wide internal assessment. The schedule, and associated budget and staffing resources, will now be the object of an independent review mandated by the Council

http://www.atomic-energy.iae.kyoto-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/LEGOshortmovie.mp4

ITER is really Big Science. But maybe it is too big, like the Babel tower.
Tullio

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ITER is really Big Science. But maybe it is too big, like the Babel tower.
Tullio

Well. There are 35 countries and 40 languages already involved in ITER:)
I don't know about Big Science but it's surely Big Technology.

Construction of DEMO, the prototype of the fusion reactor, is foreseen to start in the 2030s, and operation in the 2040s if ITER can produce net energy by then...

Meanwhile, for 2 days Germany has lived on Sun and wind power only. An Australian team has produced a prototype solar photovoltaic cell reaching 34% efficiency. They use a prism, and split sunlight in three bands, each of which is sent to a different semiconductor. The preceding record was 24%.
Tullio

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Meanwhile, for 2 days Germany has lived on Sun and wind power only.

Germany is in the Nord Pool Markets.
They buy electricity from the country that are cheapest.
This time of year Sweden has a surplus of electricity and energy are probably cheaper than the German price.
http://www.nordpoolspot.com/

Livermore is doing great work as well:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/pseg-lawrence-livermore-solar-center-190000784.html

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