Scientists have responded coolly to US aerospace company Lockheed Martin's claim that it has cracked nuclear fusion, thus potentially solving the world's energy crisis.
The company released a short press release and accompanying video on Wednesday claiming that it was "working on a new compact fusion reactor (CFR) that can be developed and deployed in as little as ten years".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The old promise of atoms for peace was a noble one, but ultimately flawed because the technology wasn't right for it," he said. "We can achieve that grand vision and bring clean power to the world. The true atomic age can start."
However, fusion researchers have expressed scepticism over the company's announcement. Professor Steven Cowley, director of the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy in Oxfordshire, told The Guardian he was "nonplussed" at the announcement. "I can't see any results. I mean what have they achieved? It's all promise," said Cowley. "The proof is in the pudding in science. I'm surprised that a company like this would make this kind of announcement without announcing any results."
Ian Hutchinson, a professor of nuclear science and engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology agreed with Cowley's assessment: "As far as I can tell, they haven't paid attention to the underlying physics of nuclear fusion," he told the Washington Post.
According to Lockheed, the main innovation of their project is its size; the company claims to have significantly reduced the scale of fusion reactors. If the product works the way Lockheed proposes, it could fit on the back of a truck, and would be about ten times smaller than current reactors. The company also claims to be able to build and test a design in as little as a year, and that it could complete its first operational reactor within ten years. But many researchers said that as yet the claims have little foundation.
Fusion power is "the sun that never rises", the Guardian says, noting that the technology is "perpetually 30 years away".
-
Should you add your child to your credit card?The Explainer You can make them an authorized user on your account in order to help them build credit
-
Cracker Barrel crackup: How the culture wars are upending corporate brandingIn the Spotlight Is it 'woke' to leave nostalgia behind?
-
'It's hard to discern what it actually means'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
How cybercriminals are hacking into the heart of the US economySpeed Read Ransomware attacks have become a global epidemic, with more than $18.6bn paid in ransoms in 2020
-
Language-learning apps speak the right lingo for UK subscribersSpeed Read Locked-down Brits turn to online lessons as a new hobby and way to upskill
-
Brexit-hobbled Britain ‘still tech powerhouse of Europe’Speed Read New research shows that UK start-ups have won more funding than France and Germany combined over past year
-
Playing Cupid during Covid: Tinder reveals Britain’s top chat-up lines of the yearSpeed Read Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Dominic Cummings among most talked-about celebs on the dating app
-
Brits sending one less email a day would cut carbon emissions by 16,000 tonnesSpeed Read UK research suggests unnecessary online chatter increases climate change
-
Reach for the Moon: Nokia and Nasa to build 4G lunar networkSpeed Read Deal is part of the US space agency’s plan to establish human settlements on the lunar surface
-
iPhone 12 launch: what we learned from the Apple ‘Hi, Speed’ eventSpeed Read Tech giant unveils new 5G smartphone line-up
-
Russian agency behind US election meddling ‘created fake left-wing news site’Speed Read Facebook says real reporters were hired by fake editors to write about US corruption
