Boeing has filed a patent for a multiple laser nuclear fusion jet engine.
There's a push for changes to patent system 'to protect against patent trolls'. I think this may be either Boeing either protecting itself before law change or being proactive to take advantage of any change, maybe both.
http://indiandefence.com/threads/boeing-just-patented-a-jet-engine-powered-by-lasers-and-nuclear-explosions-ba.54929/
Looks like this patent was driven by changes already made to the patent system. The patent system has been changed from first-to-invent to first-to-file. (2013 article on a startup at link). Based on first-to-file in comparison to the old system which is the history that we recall, we’ll likely see many more patents of ‘wondrous’ inventions just around the corner. Which will never happen. My view, we should go back to first-to-invent. It’s served us well for years. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2013/09/15/baverman-entrepreneurs-and-startups/2795063/
Alain, this is very fascinating and right up my alley. Thank you tremendously for the post to the blog. I have a few FSU NROTC Officer Candidates who went on to become successful Naval Nuclear propulsion Officers:) We have cocktails from time to time and discuss such things as nuclear Iran and China:)
I truly do love this topic. Here in the space coast/Orlando and Titusville Florida, we recently had another rocket launch into outer space! I love the quirky wisdom of all things outer space and the like. Very fascinating my Tam brother!
Keith
Thanks sweetexp. I was in NROTC coming out of high school, but that summer my college canceled it for incoming freshmen. So rather than start applying to college all over again in late summer/early fall, I went to college without it. ROTC is back on campus now as it always should have been.
Relative to airplanes, 70 years ago, July 28, 1945, a B-25 bomber flew into the Empire State building in the fog. 3 soldiers on board were killed and 11 in the bldg. died, mostly young women of the National Catholic Welfare Council putting together care packages for our military that Saturday morning. Article states that part of the reason why the Empire State bldg. survived the crash as it did, was that it has internal support columns which the Twin Towers did not have.
http://nypost.com/2015/07/27/when-a-b-25-crashed-into-the-empire-state-building/