Free Republic

A group of U.S. scientists say they have repeated their landmark energy feat - a nuclear fusion reaction that produces more energy than is put into it. But this time, they say the experiment produced an even higher energy yield than one in December...the lab "won't be discussing further details" of the July experiment until after more analysis.

"We are sidestepping all of the scientific challenges that have held fusion energy back for more than half a century," says the director of an Australian company that claims its hydrogen-boron fusion technology is already working a billion times better than expected.

PALMDALE, Calif., Oct. 15, 2014 – The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] Skunk Works® team is working on a new compact fusion reactor (CFR) that can be developed and deployed in as little as ten years. Currently, there are several patents pending that cover their approach. While fusion itself is not new, the Skunk Works has built on more than 60 years of fusion research and investment to develop an approach that offers a significant reduction in size compared to mainstream efforts. “Our compact fusion concept combines several alternative magnetic confinement approaches, taking the best parts of each, and offers a...

ASSOCIATED PRESS BEIJING -- Scientists on Thursday carried out China's first successful test of an experimental fusion reactor, powered by the process that fuels the sun, a research institute spokeswoman said. China, the United States and other governments are pursuing fusion research in hopes that it could become a clean, potentially limitless energy source. Fusion produces little radioactive waste, unlike fission, which powers conventional nuclear reactors. Beijing is eager for advances, both for national prestige and to reduce its soaring consumption of imported oil and dirty coal. The test by the government's Institute of Plasma Physics was carried out on...