January 03, 2009
MIRACLE ENGINE OF THE FUTURE, PART #5,324
K.C. Jones sends along this article about the Sanderson engine, the latest in a long line of garage-built super engines and power sources that will some day revolutionize the world.
As usual in these stories, there are glowing testimonials and eye-popping test results, along with expressions of interest and investment from industry, and promises of mass production "just around the corner".
Note that most of the pilot programs and success stories on the website are 5-6 years old. If this is such a hot property, why is the company asking for government seed money? If the Ford engineers are so jazzed, why the delay?
Why then do these super engines never actually show up in the real world? Conspiracy fetishists claim that these miracle engines get bought and killed by greedy corporations and oil companies who are bent on perpetuating their monopolies. Those of us in the real world, however, realize that going from a wooden model or prototype to actual reliable mass production is a tough trick to pull off.
And, the risk of marketing a new technology to consumers (as opposed to companies for fleet or industrial uses) includes exposure to government safety bureaucrats and aggressive trial lawyers who will take every opportunity to delay and demonize anything new.
One example - I remember all the hype about the Wankel rotary engine in the 60's - it was practically the house pet of Popular Mechanics magazine. This engine was going to someday replace all other piston engines. So why hasn't it? First, the seals kept blowing, requiring expensive repairs. Once that was figured out, the advent of electronic fuel injection and pollution standards negated most of the rotary's mechanical advantages. So you can still buy a car with a rotary engine, but it is a novelty, not a standard.
This Sanderson engine looks much more promising for fixed-power uses - pumps and compressors, etc - rather than for the high temperature and stresses of automobile use. Time will tell, I suppose, but don't hold your breath.
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As usual in these stories, there are glowing testimonials and eye-popping test results, along with expressions of interest and investment from industry, and promises of mass production "just around the corner".
Note that most of the pilot programs and success stories on the website are 5-6 years old. If this is such a hot property, why is the company asking for government seed money? If the Ford engineers are so jazzed, why the delay?
Why then do these super engines never actually show up in the real world? Conspiracy fetishists claim that these miracle engines get bought and killed by greedy corporations and oil companies who are bent on perpetuating their monopolies. Those of us in the real world, however, realize that going from a wooden model or prototype to actual reliable mass production is a tough trick to pull off.
And, the risk of marketing a new technology to consumers (as opposed to companies for fleet or industrial uses) includes exposure to government safety bureaucrats and aggressive trial lawyers who will take every opportunity to delay and demonize anything new.
One example - I remember all the hype about the Wankel rotary engine in the 60's - it was practically the house pet of Popular Mechanics magazine. This engine was going to someday replace all other piston engines. So why hasn't it? First, the seals kept blowing, requiring expensive repairs. Once that was figured out, the advent of electronic fuel injection and pollution standards negated most of the rotary's mechanical advantages. So you can still buy a car with a rotary engine, but it is a novelty, not a standard.
This Sanderson engine looks much more promising for fixed-power uses - pumps and compressors, etc - rather than for the high temperature and stresses of automobile use. Time will tell, I suppose, but don't hold your breath.
Posted by: JBD at
02:56 PM
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