EMC2 has gotten almost eight million dollars to do further experimentation on the Polywell Fusion concept.
Energy Matter Conversion Corp., (EMC2)*, Santa Fe, N.M., is being awarded a $7,855,504 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for research, analysis, development, and testing in support of the Plan Plasma Fusion (Polywell) Project. Efforts under this Recovery Act award will validate the basic physics of the plasma fusion (polywell) concept, as well as provide the Navy with data for potential applications of polywell fusion. Work will be performed in Santa Fe, N.M., and is expected to be completed in April 2011. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., is the contracting activity (N68936-09-C-0125).
Evidently the $2 million promised in May was just a place holder and the actual funds are significantly greater. This means that the work on WB-8 and the engineering for WB-9 will go forward with the next milestone in April of 2011. Which is in accord with Rick Nebel's promise that We Will Know In Two Years.
If you would like to keep these reports coming visit Five Years of Blogging and do what you can.
Sounds like the government may have sensible project controllers on this.
The project and money is too small to attract much political interest. Good.
Give a project too little and nothing can be done. Give it far too much and usually little or nothing gets done.
More funding could have helped in the past. It might be proved by now. Or put to rest.
K · September 12, 2009 5:32 PM
Two years, eh? That's just enough time to build a space worthy craft.
Do ya think they'll give a discount for pre-orders?
Anonymous · September 12, 2009 11:36 PM
How much have we spent/will spend on Polywell research? 10 million? And they claim that they will know if the technology is viable in two years? I just read that ITER is looking like 5 BILLION EUROS and won't produce power until 2026.
My greatest confidence in Polywell is the fact that the guys doing it are confident enough in their work that they aren't trying to turn it into an indefinite taxpayer funded jobs program.
The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler
Don?t bang your head!
Sounds like the government may have sensible project controllers on this.
The project and money is too small to attract much political interest. Good.
Give a project too little and nothing can be done. Give it far too much and usually little or nothing gets done.
More funding could have helped in the past. It might be proved by now. Or put to rest.