Some interesting articles found on the internet this week ...
Lola Cars goes under but composites fights on (Business Weekly) Administrators have been unable to find a buyer to continue the Lola Cars business, but the composites side of the group is continuing to trade, with two potential buyers.
For Lightweight Cars, a Materials Race (New York Times) The Energy Department says that reducing a car’s weight by only 10% can improve fuel economy by 6-8%. Three technologies that show promise in lightening vehicles are high-strength steel, carbon fibre composites and aluminium. All of them are supported by $8 million in development awards that the department has doled out to the likes of General Motors, Ford and Caterpillar, as well as to two federal laboratories.
New Techniques Stretch Carbon Nanotubes, Make Stronger Composites (ScienceDaily) Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed new techniques for stretching carbon nanotubes (CNT) and using them to create carbon composites that can be used as stronger, lighter materials in everything from airplanes to bicycles.
Eight ways China is changing your world (BBC) China's ruling Communist Party meets from 8 November to rubber-stamp sweeping changes that will put in place the country's leaders for the next 10 years. Here are eight reasons (eight being an auspicious number in China) why the world should pay attention to what happens in the secretive corridors of Beijing's Great Hall of the People.
VIDEO: COMPOSITES EUROPE 2012 (YouTube) Impressions from the COMPOSITES EUROPE trade show in Düsseldorf last week.