Boeing patents a laser and nuclear pellet powered jet engine

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But it's unlikely to be realised in the near future.

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Read more.

Roll on the Boeing 797 "Chernobyl" series of aircraft, where minor elecrical faults can lead to mushroom cloud formations & long term ghoulification effects :P

Very similar to project Orion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propulsion)

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Originally Posted by 13thmonkey

Very similar to project Orion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Projec...ar_propulsion)

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i was going to say exactly the same thing but you beat me to it!

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Originally Posted by zaph0d

Roll on the Boeing 797 "Chernobyl" series of aircraft, where minor elecrical faults can lead to mushroom cloud formations & long term ghoulification effects :P

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Haahaaa

and like any government is going to agree to fissile U238 in a jet liner or the use of nuclear fuel over its land. Hello fallout!

It's worth pointing out that Boeing is an aeroSPACE company, this kind of invention doesn't have to be used on a commerical jetliner to see use. It could well be a push for fundamental patents required for the next 50 years of space flight, particularly if we see more interest in either a Luna base or manned Mars mission.

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Originally Posted by Jenny_Y8S

Hmmm, not very similar.

Orion is 'achievable'* using tech we have today (Eject a nuke, ride the shock-wave for a delta-v change.) We could do this, we'd be crazy but we could.

This patent is based on technology that doesn't exist. End of. We don't have the tech for But repeatable laser powered fusion, and there's nothing on the immediate horizon to give it to us.

Speculative patent is speculative.

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*cough* http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/the-lasers-fuelling-hopes-of-unlimited-clean-nuclear-energy-9124237.html *cough*

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Originally Posted by Lucio

It's worth pointing out that Boeing is an aeroSPACE company, this kind of invention doesn't have to be used on a commerical jetliner to see use. It could well be a push for fundamental patents required for the next 50 years of space flight, particularly if we see more interest in either a Luna base or manned Mars mission.

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But when China goes to Mars I bet they won't buy Boeing engines ;)

the issue with laser powered fusion is finding a sustainable lasing material i.e. one that exists in sufficient quantities for large-scale commercial use. Laser fusion has been successfully demonstrated at several universities now - including Oxford - using various lasing materials. It's the scaling issue that holds it back from roll-out.

Yet more uninvented patents. Wonderful.

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Originally Posted by zaph0d

Roll on the Boeing 797 "Chernobyl" series of aircraft, where minor elecrical faults can lead to mushroom cloud formations & long term ghoulification effects :P

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AFAIK what they propose is nuclear fusion not nuclear fission, the former is fusing two or more lighter atoms into a larger one something our sun does, the latter is splitting a larger atom into smaller ones something nuclear reactors & bombs do.

One produces large amounts of highly radioactive particles (reactors, bombs), the other produces few radioactive particles with afaik a much shorter half-life.

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Originally Posted by mozzer51

*cough* http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc...y-9124237.html *cough*

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Does that chamber look like something you can attach to the wings of an aircraft? Oh, and even that giant chamber is only a small part of the entire assembly, and it barely breaks even on energy yielded from the input required to trigger the reaction in the first place.

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Originally Posted by aidanjt

Does that chamber look like something you can attach to the wings of an aircraft? Oh, and even that giant chamber is only a small part of the entire assembly, and it barely breaks even on energy yielded from the input required to trigger the reaction in the first place.

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Two different articles there. The diagram in the Hexus article is for a "propulsion system".

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Originally Posted by aidanjt

Yet more uninvented patents. Wonderful.

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Yes it is wonderful, there is little chance of a commercial development in the next 17 years, and nobody else will now be able to patent this basic concept later, when patents might block development.