Lockheed Martin may have just won the alternative energy war

Lockheed Martin has announced a new breakthrough which may allow for the development of feasible nuclear fusion, which could help solve a potential energy crisis.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Maryland-based firm had revealed that the first fusion reactors may be ready for use in about 10 years.

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Nuclear fission is a process in which a single atom is split into two, while the process behind nuclear fusion combines two atoms into one. Nuclear fusion creates between three and four times the energy as fission.

The project's head, Tom McGuire, said that he and his team have been working on the fusion technology at Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works for four years. Now, they are going public in order to find potential partners in private industry and government.

Initial findings from the project demonstrated that a 100-megawatt reactor that measures seven feet by 10 feet, and could fit in the back of a truck, could be feasible. At this size, the potential reactor is 10 times smaller than those currently in use.

Fusion uses two kings of hydrogen atoms, deuterium and tritium, and injecting the made gas into a container. Next, scientists add energy that removes the electrons from their host atoms, which forms something akin to ion plasma.

Lockheed Martin says it will build and test a compact fusion reactor in less than a year, and will build a prototype in five years.

The company has become deeply involved in numerous alternative energy projects as military expenditure in the U.S. and Europe declines.

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