Detroit Diesel Corp., for example, expects its silicon nitride engine valves to tough it out for 300,000 miles or more. They're used in jet engines and the world's fastest, toughest machine tools. Gel-casting, which minimizes expensive machining of complex ceramic components. Chemical vapor deposition, which infuses ceramics throughout fiber mats or other reinforcing matrixes. Microwave sintering, which can fire parts faster and more uniformly than conventional furnaces.
Techniques range from genetic mapping to advanced technologies for gasification and liquefaction.
By harnessing tens of millions of acres of idle farmland, America could, within a decade or two, develop biomass plantations capable of fueling virtually the entire U.S. automotive fleet. By tapping the potential of waste paper and biomass in a big way, ORNL researchers believe, we could reduce oil imports, ease the burden on landfills, boost American agriculture, and slow the build-up of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere. Potential we think worth cultivating. Limbs and heads whip forward, straining harnesses, then fall slack. Nobody wants advances in auto efficiency or styling to come at the expense of safety.