Free Republic

A Detroit entrepreneur surprised university engineers in Ohio recently, when he invented a heat-treatment that makes steel 7 percent stronger than any steel on record -- in less than 10 seconds. In fact, the steel, now trademarked as Flash Bainite, has tested stronger and more shock-absorbing than the most common titanium alloys used by industry. Now the entrepreneur is working with researchers at Ohio State University to better understand the science behind the new treatment, called flash processing. What they've discovered may hold the key to making cars and military vehicles lighter, stronger, and more fuel-efficient. In the current issue...

Imagine a material that's stronger than steel, but just as versatile as plastic, able to take on a seemingly endless variety of forms. For decades, materials scientists have been trying to come up with just such an ideal substance, one that could be molded into complex shapes with the same ease and low expense as plastic but without sacrificing the strength and durability of metal Now a team led by Jan Schroers, a materials scientist at Yale University has shown that some recently developed bulk metallic glasses(BMGs)-metal alloys that have randomly arranged atoms as opposed to the orderly, crystalline structure...

We need TRAINS in this country!! I honestly believe if McCain/Palin would have included TRAINS as part of their Campaign - it would have resonated BIG with Americans and perhaps "cinched" the election for them. There are so many advantages/benefits to this mode of transportation........especially at this particular time/juncture we find ourselves in. Think of the time savings, increased productivity, far less pollution, enormous fuel/energy saved, millions of local/national American jobs created, infrastructure investment (new deal), etc. etc.