Lighter and smoother, two reasons why competitive bikers favored ceramic hybrids when they first became available. Now, racers can opt for full ceramic bearings to help shave every ounce from hubs and pivot points. The bearings boast silicon nitride balls and Zirconia ceramic races to eliminate brittleness inherent in other ceramics.

A new polyimide manages well in lieu of metal parts in hot, dirty environments. It embeds contaminating particles and holds them below the wear surface, unlike metal substrates. These properties convinced a powertrain manufacturer to use polyimide thrust washers in planetary gears in SUV transfer cases.

Purdue University developed a technology that could both improve wind turbine efficiency and test turbine blades for fatigue. Embedded uniaxial and triaxial accelerometers reveal blade forces. These sensors could trigger flaps similar to airplane wing systems, capturing more energy and preventing blade damage in high winds.

One of the more vital safety tasks is preventing gas line leaks, and many regulations aim to ensure the engineering is carried out. But how do you ensure the joint seals? This testing fixture determines the peel resistance of plastic foil and textile fiber linings used to seal the joints of gas pipes already in place.

Someday, a rope may turn red to save your life. Polymers display conductive and self-repair abilities. Now, the University of Illinois developed self-sensing polymers containing mechanically active molecules, or mechanophores. They react chemically (change color) when stressed by tensile loading. Researchers forecast the ability to regenerate or self-reinforce.

A clarified polypropylene is poised to replace polycarbonate in food containers. One key to moving up the consideration list: it alleviates concern over possible health effects of bisphenol, a polycarbonate feedstock. This clarified polymer is also 50% less hazy than previous PP standards, has high temperature range, and is recyclable.

Jointed, two-link arm SCARA robots have served well for decades, but have a weakness. The robots can't reach the center of their workspace. A unique arm design and ceiling-only mount allow this new machine to maneuver under itself, eliminating any dead space and creating a work zone equal to robots twice its size.

Susceptibility to chemicals and solvents, heat, and moisture had you avoiding pressure sensitive adhesives switches? This video sheds new light on an alternative. It details the construction and uses of heat-sealed membrane switches, in which the substrate layers and circuitry are thermally fused together into a homogeneous unit.

On the surface it sounds like a great idea, and most folks stand ready to support green initiatives. But as engineers and scientists, we realize that there's a need for better logic and simple math that can be used to educate all about the good in green, says Cambridge physics professor David MacKay. In this CNN.com commentary, he warns that the failure to give straight talk in energy discussions only permits persistence of wishful, wasteful ideas.

To paraphrase the famous Jackie Gleason, "How sweet it is!" Borrowing from the strange world of Willy Wonka, the biofuels movement reached out with a bit of wacky PR. The case in point is race car fueled by chocolate and sporting a steering wheel made from carrots. The auto may be the world's fastest biofueled vehicle, running on fuel made from chocolate factory waste and vegetable oil.

Put Up Your Nukes

Is it time to stop fighting the urge, and make nuclear power politically correct again? Shouldn't we help pick up the pace of progress