Engines with friggin' laser beams!

[Zenmervolt]

Pretty damn interesting if you ask me.

Looks like it has the potential to effectively emulate multi-spark ignitions as well, which could be huge. The potential gains in ignition control are staggering. Not to mention that this would eliminate the "hot spot" that plugs create and would allow higher compression ratios before detonation. Lots of gains to be had if this gets working in production vehicles.

ZV

 

[BW86]

wow thats pretty neat

 

[Juddog]

Awesome.

 

[c3p0]

For those who may not have noticed, Ford is doing a lot of creative things these days. Could be giant step forward for the internal combustion engine.

c3p0
:beer:

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: c3p0
For those who may not have noticed, Liverpool University in England is doing a lot of creative things these days. Could be giant step forward for the internal combustion engine.

c3p0
:beer:

Fixed.

 

[LTC8K6]

Scientists at Liverpool University and engineers at car giants Ford have developed a new ignition system which uses focused beams of laser light to ignite the fuel.

"This collaboration with the University of Liverpool is part of that effort, with Ford contributing in kind, with engineering time and equipment use, as well as financially."

 

[BlackTigers]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

Scientists at Liverpool University and engineers at car giants Ford have developed a new ignition system which uses focused beams of laser light to ignite the fuel.

"This collaboration with the University of Liverpool is part of that effort, with Ford contributing in kind, with engineering time and equipment use, as well as financially."

DivideBYZero's User Profile

Username: DivideBYZero

City: London

Country: United Kingdom

 

[phreaqe]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: c3p0
For those who may not have noticed, Liverpool University in England is doing a lot of creative things these days. Could be giant step forward for the internal combustion engine.

c3p0
:beer:

Fixed.

not quite man. ford is working with them to design the technology. they are working on it at fords request.

 

[npoe1]

Even better there is a working prototype.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

Scientists at Liverpool University and engineers at car giants Ford have developed a new ignition system which uses focused beams of laser light to ignite the fuel.

"This collaboration with the University of Liverpool is part of that effort, with Ford contributing in kind, with engineering time and equipment use, as well as financially."

DivideBYZero's User Profile

Username: DivideBYZero

City: London

Country: United Kingdom

Heh, nationalist bias aside, good on everyone involved in this. You'll notice that this isn't taking place in the University of Michigan

 

[TechBoyJK]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

Scientists at Liverpool University and engineers at car giants Ford have developed a new ignition system which uses focused beams of laser light to ignite the fuel.

"This collaboration with the University of Liverpool is part of that effort, with Ford contributing in kind, with engineering time and equipment use, as well as financially."

DivideBYZero's User Profile

Username: DivideBYZero

City: London

Country: United Kingdom

Heh, nationalist bias aside, good on everyone involved in this. You'll notice that this isn't taking place in the University of Michigan

i thought that got closed down?

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

Scientists at Liverpool University and engineers at car giants Ford have developed a new ignition system which uses focused beams of laser light to ignite the fuel.

"This collaboration with the University of Liverpool is part of that effort, with Ford contributing in kind, with engineering time and equipment use, as well as financially."

DivideBYZero's User Profile

Username: DivideBYZero

City: London

Country: United Kingdom

Heh, nationalist bias aside, good on everyone involved in this. You'll notice that this isn't taking place in the University of Michigan

Pretty much my point, but the flag waving cheeseburger truck nuts clan turned up. *rabble rabble*

 

[thescreensavers]

didn't bill gates have some nuclear powered engine ? some thing

 

[Uhtrinity]

So what happens when the lens gets covered by carbon buildup? Engines compared to laser and optics are rather dirty.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Uhtrinity
So what happens when the lens gets covered by carbon buildup? Engines compared to laser and optics are rather dirty.

No clue; but the fact that they have running prototypes suggests that whatever issue there might be has been solved to some degree.

ZV

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Uhtrinity
So what happens when the lens gets covered by carbon buildup? Engines compared to laser and optics are rather dirty.

No clue; but the fact that they have running prototypes suggests that whatever issue there might be has been solved to some degree.

ZV

 

[EightySix Four]

Meh, stupid iPhone. I meant to say I'm sure if the laser beam is intense enough to ignite the gas they can simply burn off anything that starts to stick to the lense.

 

[Howard]

Read about this years ago. Are they using fibers to channel the light into the chambers?

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Howard
Read about this years ago. Are they using fibers to channel the light into the chambers?

From the article in the OP...(yes)...

The laser beam is delivered by a thin, fiber-optic cable to a focusing lens that would take up much less space than a spark plug, allowing engineers greater flexibility in designing valves and cylinders. The laser beam can be split to ignite the fuel mixture from multiple points deep in the cylinder, making for a more efficient burn than a spark plug can achieve, reducing emissions and getting better fuel economy. Another advantage to the laser system is that part of the beam can be reflected to a receiver and used to gather data on the fuel mixture and the quality of the burn.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

Scientists at Liverpool University and engineers at car giants Ford have developed a new ignition system which uses focused beams of laser light to ignite the fuel.

"This collaboration with the University of Liverpool is part of that effort, with Ford contributing in kind, with engineering time and equipment use, as well as financially."

DivideBYZero's User Profile

Username: DivideBYZero

City: London

Country: United Kingdom

Heh, nationalist bias aside, good on everyone involved in this. You'll notice that this isn't taking place in the University of Michigan

Pretty much my point, but the flag waving cheeseburger truck nuts clan turned up. *rabble rabble*

So it's okay to be a union jack waving fish n' chip lorry nut?

 

[StageLeft]

Never thought of it but to hear of it it sounds like a good idea.

 

[TimeKeeper]

It does sound interesting.

But.... shouldn't Ford develop something more useful? Something that doesn't require fossil fuels?

 

[EightySix Four]

Originally posted by: TimeKeeper
It does sound interesting.

But.... shouldn't Ford develop something more useful? Something that doesn't require fossil fuels?

Fucking really? You think we should stop improving the efficiency of fossil fueled vehicles which already have a strong supporting infrastructure... and only focus on non-existent vehicles that use a non-existent infrastructure to power them? Brilliant.

 

[sjwaste]

I own Ford stock. You can all cheer whoever you want, but this is good news for the stock price.

Bought at 1.76, when it was inevitable that GM = Government Motors.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: sjwaste
I own Ford stock. You can all cheer whoever you want, but this is good news for the stock price.

Bought at 1.76, when it was inevitable that GM = Government Motors.

I told a buddy at work that we should buy Ford when it was $1.03 because of the same reasons. I thought hard about it and now wish that I had followed through. Live and learn, I guess!