Ideas & Innovation, July 2011

This week a NASA engineer presented his findings related to a fusion engine for satellites at the IEEE Symposium on Fusion Engineering.

John C. Chapman proposes using aneutronic fusion to “maneuver spacecraft on just grams of fuel, making it ten times more efficient than the thrusters used today.” Read more about the propulsion system here

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A 100-pound tool for penetrating concrete walls and barriers has been announced for sale by Raytheon Company. The controlled impact rescue tool (CIRT), is a two-person tool that fires blank ammunition cartridges through walls.

Here’s the video: (Read more & the press release)

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Bloomberg news has profiled Eric Ingersoll and his ideas on how to use geo-engineering to increase the efficiency of alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power.

The article discusses blowing “huge volumes of compressed air into underground salt caverns when the power sources are generating and then release the air through turbines when electricity is needed.” You can also visit Ingersoll’s company for more details

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