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MIT gasoline / ethanol engine to up gas mileage by "30 percent"
Anyone with enough coin to not concern themselves with fuel prices anyway can throw down $100,000 (or more) for an uber-green Tesla Roadster, or you can tack a few extra grand onto the price of your next vehicle to ensure it has some sort of hybrid engine underneath the hood, but MIT researchers are developing yet another alternative to our oh-so-troublesome fuel dilemma without looking to fuel cells. The gasoline / ethanol prototype is about "half the size" of a conventional gas engine, and would only add "about $1,000" to the price of a vehicle -- much less than current battery / gasoline options. The gasoline and ethanol are housed in separate tanks, with the ethanol "suppressing the spontaneous combustion inside the cylinder," allowing for a "higher compression ratio" and a "30 percent increase" in overall gas mileage. Ford is currently testing the system with Ethanol Boosting Systems, and while we're unsure how these engineering minds will solve the problem of double-pumping each time you need a fill up, they're reportedly working hard to "minimize any inconvenience to the driver."
Woz and Buzz to take Hydrogen Hummer to South Pole
Before we dive into the actual story, lets just take a minute to sit back and appreciate just how fantastically bizarre that title is....Ok then! Mac daddy Steve Wozniak has announced that in December 2007, he and Moon man Buzz Aldrin (second person ever to set foot on the Moon) will participate in an expedition to the South Pole in which the intrepid explorers will be conveyed by Hydrogen fuel cell powered H1 Hummers. The Apple co-founder revealed his plans at Stanford University's AlwaysOn conference. The modern day eco-friendly adventure will be filmed using 3D cameras for use in an upcoming James Cameron film. According to Woz, the team has received significant input from the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, which runs three of its buses on fuel cells. [via Cult of Mac]
