Nanotechnological advances in F1?

Very interesting stuff. But at what cost ? Will this technology just widen the gap between the haves and have nots ? Thanks for posting.

 

Just one small part...

WILL THE FIA PERMIT TEAMS TO USE IT!!!!

I am sure teams like Minardi, Williams, and Jordan will complain about costs being TOO HIGH!

 

Most rule books say what you can't do, not what you can.
It's not until the new technology is implemented, that it has a chance to get banned.

 

Not a chassis, but on a related note, nanotechnology reportedly to be already used for making better tire componds.

I heard a mention of it during some telecast of an American Le Mans race, but here's all I could find after a quick look on the net.

Marketing BS or the real deal? Not too sure. On the telecast, they mentioned that Yoko shod Porsche GT2 class car got the pole position at the last Le Mans race using the race version of the tire, while everyone else was running qualifying rubber. They attributed this to the "nano" stuff, but who really knows....


http://www.tirereview.com/?type=art&id=3690&

Most noteworthy about the Advan Sport tire is its construction. According to Dan Guiney, Yokohama’s manager of technical service, the Sport tire is the first tire in the industry to use nanotechnology – a process in which components are engineered at one nanometer (one billionth of a meter) or less. “Nanotechnology allows us to make tread compounds that bond at a molecular level,” Guiney said. “The result is a compound that can grip extremely fine surfaces and irregularities.”

Using nanotechnology, engineers in Yokohama’s Research and Development Integrated Center (known as RADIC) located near Tokyo, bonded super-fine silica, polymer and carbon materials to create the Advan Sport tire. “During development, the tread contact area increased by 10% solely through the use of this technology,” said Guiney.

 

Williams? Last time I checked they had a bigger budget than Renault...

 

Nanotubes~! My school is one of the top research institutions for SWNT's (Rice University). Last year (kind of lame) people here built the world-record longest model of a single walled carbon nanotube.

I worked this summer with some of the people who are heading this research at Rice. Right now basically lots of different research institutions are trying to find ways to spin the fibers so that they can actually be of use. The technology/theory is there to make really strong, light things to be used in general application like F1 cars, but they cannot make the material yet. Right now the longest they can spin one of these is about 6 inches so there is still a lot of work to be done.

The greatest application that they are thinking about using these for now is actually in energy. If they can make wires out of these nanotubes, they will not heat up and droop like copper wires do now. They also have use in superconductors/capacitors which have the ability to revolutionize the grid as well, by allowing electricity to be transferred between regions with negligible resistivity, allowing for the creation of international energy markets.

In short, nanotubes are really cool and have the capacity to do a lot of cool things in the future.

 

Is Dr. Smalley (sp?) still at Rice? He was the first Nobel winner that I ever got a chance to talk to one on one. Buckey balls and buckey strings are still off in the distance.

As for nanotech, it's already in F1 especially when you look at some of the pre-preg ingredients in the carbon fiber. Nanotech is just a buzz word, surface science has been here for a long time...

 

I emailed my friend at Georgia tech, he said they were just given an $80million grant to do further research and will be working with other engineering institutes.

- Chris

 

That is because they do not currently PAY for their engines.

Just wait till next year when they actually have to PAY for their engines!!!

 

Not really nanotech, but IMO, the most important invention in to be used in F1 in the last 20 or so years was the advent of pneumatic valve actuating systems, therefore getting engines able to turn from around 10,000 revs, up to 12,000, than 15,000, and now close to 20,000.....

 

Yep, he is still there. I worked with his department a bit this summer setting up a conference for November at Rice. It should be interesting - there will be a lot of industry people there to speak on a variety of topics mainly centering around electricity and the grid. I never really knew about all the technological opportunities we have waiting for us in the near future, but after I did some research this summer it seems like there are a lot of very exciting things that are very close.