CAPSLOCKSTUCK
Spaced Out Lunar Tick
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2013
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| System Name | Party On |
|---|---|
| Processor | Xeon w 3520 |
| Motherboard | DFI Lanparty |
| Cooling | Big tower thing |
| Memory | 6 gb Ballistix Tracer |
| Video Card(s) | HD 7970 |
| Case | a plank of wood |
| Audio Device(s) | seperate amp and 6 big speakers |
| Power Supply | Corsair |
| Mouse | cheap |
| Keyboard | under going restoration |
Future aircraft could be powered by lasers and nuclear explosions if Boeing has its way.
The aerospace firm claims a new-type of engine could produce energy-efficient thrust by firing lasers at radioactive material, such as deuterium and tritium.
The technology could mean that planes and spaceships will require only a fraction of the power to operate, according to a recent patent filed by the company.
The engine outlined in the patent would work by using high-powered lasers to vaporise the radioactive material producing a fusion reaction.
'At least one laser is positioned to vapourise the propellanet with at least one laser-beam into a thrust producing flow,' the company wrote in the document.
A report in Business Insider compared the process to a small thermonuclear explosion.
The by-products of the process would be hydrogen or helium, which would leave the back-end of the plane creating thrust.
Meanwhile, the inside wall of the engine's thruster chamber will react with the neutrons created by the nuclear reaction.
The resulting heat can then be harnessed by placing a coolant on the sides of the combustion chamber.
The idea is to use this heat to produce electricity that can then drive the engine’s lasers.
Other than the radioactive material, the engine requires very little in terms of external energy.
Boeing’s Dreamliner is currently driven by turbofan engines that compress air and ignite fuel to create thrust. But it's expensive. The 787-8 Dreamliner. for instance, uses roughly $24.53 (£15.97) worth of fuel per nautical mile flown
The latest application, approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office last week, was filed by Boeing's Robert Budica, James Herzberg, and Frank Chandler.
The inside wall of the engine's thruster chamber will react with the neutrons created by the nuclear reaction. The resulting heat can then be harnessed by placing a coolant on the sides of the combustion chamber. The idea is to use this heat to produce electricity that can then drive the engine’s lasers
The aerospace firm claims a new-type of engine could produce energy-efficient thrust by firing lasers at radioactive material, such as deuterium and tritium.
The technology could mean that planes and spaceships will require only a fraction of the power to operate, according to a recent patent filed by the company.
The engine outlined in the patent would work by using high-powered lasers to vaporise the radioactive material producing a fusion reaction.
'At least one laser is positioned to vapourise the propellanet with at least one laser-beam into a thrust producing flow,' the company wrote in the document.
A report in Business Insider compared the process to a small thermonuclear explosion.
The by-products of the process would be hydrogen or helium, which would leave the back-end of the plane creating thrust.
Meanwhile, the inside wall of the engine's thruster chamber will react with the neutrons created by the nuclear reaction.
The resulting heat can then be harnessed by placing a coolant on the sides of the combustion chamber.
The idea is to use this heat to produce electricity that can then drive the engine’s lasers.
Other than the radioactive material, the engine requires very little in terms of external energy.
Boeing’s Dreamliner is currently driven by turbofan engines that compress air and ignite fuel to create thrust. But it's expensive. The 787-8 Dreamliner. for instance, uses roughly $24.53 (£15.97) worth of fuel per nautical mile flown
The latest application, approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office last week, was filed by Boeing's Robert Budica, James Herzberg, and Frank Chandler.
The inside wall of the engine's thruster chamber will react with the neutrons created by the nuclear reaction. The resulting heat can then be harnessed by placing a coolant on the sides of the combustion chamber. The idea is to use this heat to produce electricity that can then drive the engine’s lasers