Scientists in Liverpool working with some engineers from Ford, have developed an ignition system that ignites the fuel mixture with a laser instead of a spark plug. Engines in their labs are currently running with the laser system. The laser can be split into multiple beams which means it can have multiple ignition points, improving [...]
Alternative Fuels
Here’s a 4 stroke engine concept you have to see to understand, the Peraves Superballmotor uses a multipart sphere to replace the usual crankshaft, rods and pistons of a normal internal combustion engine. The moving parts of the sphere have ceramic balls on their exterior which travel in grooves in the case surrounding the sphere. [...]
Piers Prendergast, a 2009 graduate of Transport Design at Coventry University, sent me these images of his final year project. It’s a fuel cell motorcycle concept with hubless wheels which are kind of unique: The hubless wheels work though a fixed inner rim and a rotating outer rim that spins on internal bearings. The concept [...]
Charles Taylor built a one wheel gyro stabilized vehicle and it worked. It was functional, not flashy, but the guy actually built it and the videos show how it evolved over the years. Just after writing that article the other day I came across a short piece in a 1958 issue of Science and Mechanics [...]
