Nuclear Powered Aircraft

Speculation alert:  This idea is entirely based upon my own speculations.  Take it with a grain of salt.  At least for now.

This is an old Cold War idea that may make a comeback if fusion power is perfected.

Maybe they could start with propeller driven aircraft, with the propellers being turned by electric motors.  If anything, such an engine would be quiet.  The nuke power plant could be situated away from passengers, but also away from the motors themselves.  One central power plant could power all of the engines.  The fusion power ideas such as polywell, focus fusion and ecat are all free of harmful radiation anyway, so radiation would of minimal concern.

Of the three fusion powered plants listed here, all three would be small enough to fit on a plane.  Polywell may have a problem, considering that the shape of the thing would be somewhat awkward for an aircraft.  Focus fusion has a similar problem, judging from all the pictures I looked at yesterday.  Ecat seems to be the best bet, in terms of size, weight, and shape.

One huge advantage of a fusion powered aircraft would be in terms of weight.  Think of all that fuel that would not have to be carried onboard.  This could also free up room for more passengers and space.

Another advantage, of course, is range.  Such a craft could fly indefinitely, without the need to fill up.  The passengers and crew may want to come down before the plane needs to.

Naturally, it would not use fossil fuels, so it wouldn't add carbon dioxide to the environment.  Not that global warming is even a threat anyway, but some people seem to think so.  The better reason to stop using fossil fuels is to stop importing all that oil.

Tim Pawlenty

He announces that he's running for POTUS. This is the first time that I've seen him speak. It is a good start.

Morning Summary, 5/23

Good morning.  As is customary, I start off with the audience totals from the day before.  It is looking good again with new records being set.  Blogger pageviews tied the record set on the previous day.  That's several days in a row now with a new record, or one being tied.  Sitemeter shows more visitors in a 24 hour period than ever.  The final picture shows that the monthly totals have already exceeded the prior month with over a week to go in this month.  Things continue to look up.  Thanks!

Note:  I have added a new about the sidebar section near the top of the page.  This will serve as an introduction for newcomers to this blog.

Evening Wrap 5/22

A lot about fusion again, particular Rossi Focardi.  There appears to be three strong candidates for a breakthrough announcement this year- Rossi Focardi, Polywell, and Focus Fusion.  Those are the ones I know of.  Energy could become more and more important as the Mideast becomes more unstable.  A supply disruption could send prices much higher.  Inasmuch as thorium is already feasible, it would seem that a prudent policy would be to start developing that capability.  If fusion turns out to be viable, that could be scaled back, but it should start now anyway.  Better have a backup plan in case the original plan doesn't work out.

This year is pivotal for energy as well as economically.  Debt is an issue in the US as well as Europe.  It remains to be seen whether each of them will actually take steps to deal with it.  We should now that before the summer is over in the US, perhaps sooner than that in Europe.

As for my blog, today looks like another good day.  I will go over that in the morning.  Thanks for your support, and have a great evening.

Newsletter - Edition 266 - 22 May 2011 By Christopher Laird

Here's his usual Sunday newsletter, which is a subscription based service that you can find by clicking on the products link on the home page.  Look for his link on the products page.

Intro
Warning on US Budget and bonds
Just a matter of time now for EU
Gold, Silver targets
Dow

Chris thinks the Germans may bail out the Greeks just one more time.  If the Greek default, the Euro will drop pretty hard.  The Dow is testing 12500.  If that test fails, it can fall into the 11,000's.  The Mideast could figure into this too, so that has to be kept in mind.  There is the usual worry about US budget and bonds.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu in The Wall Street Journal:

"Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the prices of gasoline to the levels in Europe." The current gasoline price is about $8.50 a gallon in England and $8.80 in France and Germany.

Question:  Is he nuts?

Bears escaping river flooding in Mississippi Delta between Rolling Fork and Yazoo City

"We all knew bears were there but you rarely see them"

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2723279/posts