All aircraft are designed based on a specific need or purpose.The advent of endurance, speed, agility, range etc all comes into play. The final design is just compromise between all these factors.
What if there was an aircraft that has unlimited endurance or unlimited range or both? Sounds like the stuffs from Sci-Fi. Well, with the recent breakthrough in nuclear fusion technology from Lockheed Martin, we might have an Sci-Fi aircraft in a decade.
Lockheed Martin announced a breakthrough in nuclear fusion by which they are able to harness power from controlled fusion reaction. The main advantage with this they can reduce the size of nuclear power plant. Since they use magnetized vessel to contain ionized plasma, they are able to produce energy 10 times more powerful and clean than the existing power plants.
Check out the video from Lockheed Martin:
Ten years from now, we might have an aircraft powered by nuclear energy. They have tried making nuclear powered aircraft before but was cancelled for obvious reasons. (Source: Wiki)
This is actually a revolutionary breakthrough for energy sector. But for aviation, this will be a boundless technology. I wonder what we will be witnessing in a decade or two.
-Chan
No comments:
Post a Comment