Automotive

Video: ‘Tires as propellers’ for flying cars is a neat concept—but (probably) not possible

By Lisa McDonald / March 13, 2019

Goodyear released a concept design for AERO, a two-in-one airless tire that serves as both tire and propeller in future flying cars. Though realizing such a design may not be possible, it can trigger discussion about future directions for technology development.

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Video: Solar takes over after lemons fail to power electric race car battery

By Faye Oney / August 22, 2018

Lemons are good for making low-voltage batteries, but not so much when powering a car. Mark Rober attempts to create a giant lemon battery before realizing he should have used another energy source.

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A workout for your glass—Nanoparticle coating makes glass stronger, boosts impact resistance

By April Gocha / May 11, 2018

A company called MetaShield has developed a simple, spray-on, nanoparticle-based coating—and now independent laboratory testing verifies that the coating significantly enhances the impact resistance of glass.

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BMW, ACerS introduce new products at Daytona Beach last week

By Eileen De Guire / January 31, 2018

ACerS, like BMW, unveiled new products at the Hilton Daytona Beach last week. We introduced the new Bulletin Archive Online, while BMW introduced its M8 GTE race car.

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Video: How much battery capacity is needed to power Tesla’s new semi truck?

By Faye Oney / January 17, 2018

Tesla recently wowed the world with another innovation introduced at the end of 2017—the Tesla Semi. Engineer Brian McManus wanted to know how much energy a battery will need to power the Tesla Semi, and how much the battery would weigh. Watch the video to see his conclusions.

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Major spark plug maker plans to shift focus towards solid-state batteries

By April Gocha / January 5, 2018

NGK Spark Plugs, the Japanese company that leads the global spark plug market, is turning its focus away from its namesake product and instead concentrating its efforts to develop solid-state batteries for electric vehicles.

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Fisker is setting sights on solid-state battery tech to boost electric vehicle range, reduce charging time

By April Gocha / November 28, 2017

Electric car maker Fisker has plans to use a new solid-state battery technology to drive its electric vehicles to offer vast improvements over driving range, charging time, energy density, and battery cost.

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Can hydrogen fuel our future? With this ceramic membrane, maybe

By April Gocha / November 21, 2017

A team of scientists from CoorsTek Membrane Sciences, the University of Oslo, and the Institute of Chemical Technology has developed a promising new ceramic membrane that could reduce the cost and enhance the feasibility of hydrogen generation far enough to bring the technology to the forefront of clean energy solutions.

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The role of ceramics and glass in the $4 trillion auto industry, plus more inside December ACerS Bulletin

By April Gocha / November 16, 2017

The December 2017 issue of the ACerS Bulletin—featuring an in-depth analysis of the role of ceramics and glass in the global automotive industry, in addition to the annual ceramicSOURCE 2018 reference and buyer’s resource directory—is now available online.

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Ancient material, new uses—Gorilla Glass is going places, according to The Economist

By April Gocha / November 7, 2017

An article recently published in The Economist science and technology section takes on a technology that most people look at everyday, yet hardly ever notice—glass.

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