Happy New Year!

Hi Paul, here is the latest news from the link on your web site for the
ceramic rotary engine.  How small the prototype is?

http://ceramicrotaryengines.com/

Update as of December 2008   A CeTZP ceramic Wankel rotor has
already been made to specification and a CeTZP ceramic
Wankel housing and CeTZP ceramic side plates are currently being
fabricated. We expect to assemble our small prototype ceramic Wankel
engine in February 2009 and tests carried out thereafter.


Marc Joseph


"For over a century internal combustion engines have been and still are one
of
the most successful compact portable autonomous power sources being used in
the
transport of people and goods over relatively long distances relatively
quickly.
Alternate power sources, such as electric motors powered by batteries or
hydrogen fuel cells, suffer from energy storage problems, high capital
costs,
possible environmental problems and a lack of energy-delivering
infrastructure.
Substantial improvements in such technologies are arguably at least a decade

away. So for the foreseeable future internal combustion engines will
continue to
be the dominant source of portable autonomous power. As the worldwide
engines
market is huge, it was worth $235 billion in 2001, there is a great
incentive to
improve the performance and efficiency of the internal combustion engine or
see
it eclipsed by alternate power sources. Also, as crude oil reserves are
dwindling, more efficient use of this resource is required."

My sentiments exactly.

Paul Lamar

This is interesting. We at Thorncreek have been experimenting with several
different materials with reciprocating rotating engines for the past several
years. Even reinforced nylon has made its ways into our prototypes but
ceramics still needs to be explored.

Thanks for this exciting news.

Don Bedwell