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| Source: Back to the Future Wikia |
Marty: "Wait a minute, what are you doing, Doc?"
Doc: "I need fuel!"
— Marty and Doc while Doc refuels Mr. Fusion with garbage
Yes, I flashed back to the end of the first in the trilogy - I saw it with my cousin in Atlanta, Georgia just after graduation and commission in the US Air Force. It was 1985...I was young...I had hair...
Largely due to previous reports of cold fusion back in the late 80's and being a fan of the National Ignition Facility, I casually viewed this story with some caution...at a considerable distance.
However, Lockheed is not a fly-by-night outfit as aerospace defense contractor, and I doubt their reactor will use ordinary garbage. The claim that it could develop a portable "Mr. Fusion" if successful will address energy needs, potentially diffuse global tensions over resources and unfortunately, bring out the less than savory that will mount a clear defense against it in favor of the current fossil fuel/scarcity economy status quo. This is similar to the spirited defense Thomas Edison gave of direct current by showing the dangers of alternating current electrocuting elephants. Tesla: 1; Edison: 0, and we are all using alternating current with no deleterious effects. I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that inhumane extreme.
I will reserve some skepticism and guarded optimism: the division of Lockheed working on this is "Skunk Works." It has a registered trademark, so I don't think it's a Nerd prank, just a PR faux pas. Link below; stay tuned...
Phys.org: Lockheed Martin pursues compact fusion reactor concept, Nancy Owano
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