When we think of the mighty US Navy our minds go to massive aircraft carriers, LL's favorite Littoral Combat Ships, and perhaps transsexual diversity training, so relevant on a warship. But look a little closer and you'll see that the Navy's behind some pretty interesting research.
Dubbed "UFO Patents," Navy backed research into ground breaking tech, such as compact fusion generators and inertial mass reduction devices, useful for FTL travel, seem more like the stuff of science fiction than reality, but the patents are out there. Here's a snapshot, from Forbes:
When Dr. Salvatore Cezar Pais, an aerospace engineer at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), filed a patent for a “Plasma Compression Fusion Device” in 2019, it was either a giant breakthrough – or mad science. According to the patent application, the miniature device could contain and sustain fusion reactions capable of generating power in the gigawatt (1 billion watts) to terawatt (1 trillion watts) range or more. A large coal plant or mid-size nuclear powered reactor by comparison produces energy in the 1–2 gigawatt range. The revolutionary invention by Dr. Pais, if real, would produce near unlimited clean energy from something no larger than a sports utility vehicle.
Check out the whole article if you like, it's not long, and we have to wonder, where's our technology really at and are we on the verge of significant breakthroughs? I'd love to think we were, but if so, could we trust our rulers to use the advance wisely, for the benefit of the people? That's another question again.
In related news, the venerable Church of England appears to be falling into a black hole. You can read the excellent Holy Relic here. Whether the starfaring denomination escapes the event horizon remains to be seen.
Ad Astra,
LSP
