http://tinyurl.com/oahscp6
business insider 英文网站
简单翻一下
WASHINGTON (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 the back of a truck,
could be ready for use in a decade.
洛克希德马丁说他们发明了小型核融合炉能装在卡车上 10年内能准备好
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.
100MW的反应炉只有7x10呎大 能装在卡车上
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.
5年内能做出原型
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.
Lockheed's work on fusion energy could help in developing new power sources
amid increasing global conflicts over energy, and as projections show there
will be a 40 percent to 50 percent increase in energy use over the next
generation, McGuire said.
下一代能源会增加40-50%
If it proves feasible, Lockheed's work would mark a key breakthrough in a
field that scientists have long eyed as promising, but which has not yet
yielded viable power systems. The effort seeks to harness the energy released
during nuclear fusion, when atoms combine into more stable forms.
"We can make a big difference on the energy front," McGuire said, noting
Lockheed's 60 years of research on nuclear fusion as a potential energy
source that is safer and more efficient than current reactors based on
nuclear fission.
Lockheed sees the project as part of a comprehensive approach to solving
global energy and climate change problems.
Compact nuclear fusion would produce far less waste than coal-powered plants
since it would use deuterium-tritium fuel, which can generate nearly 10
million times more energy than the same amount of fossil fuels, the company
said.
Ultra-dense deuterium, an isotope of hydrogen, is found in the earth's
oceans, and tritium is made from natural lithium deposits.
It said future reactors could use a different fuel and eliminate radioactive
waste completely.
很干净
McGuire said the company had several patents pending for the work and was
looking for partners in academia, industry and among government laboratories
to advance the work.
要找金主
Lockheed said it had shown it could complete a design, build and test it in
as little as a year, which should produce an operational reactor in 10 years,
McGuire said. A small reactor could power a U.S. Navy warship, and eliminate
the need for other fuel sources that pose logistical challenges.
1年内能盖好跟测试 10年内能运转 美国海军都能用
U.S. submarines and aircraft carriers run on nuclear power, but they have
large fission reactors on board that have to be replaced on a regular cycle.
现在只有潜艇跟航母有可是太大
"What makes our project really interesting and feasible is that timeline as a
potential solution," McGuire said.
Lockheed shares fell 0.6 percent to $175.02 amid a broad market selloff.