Old-Tech Spark Plugs On The Way Out

Yet another piece of the automobile as we've known it seems will soon
become ancient history -- good ol' spark plugs.

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Last May, at the international Conference on Lasers and Electro-
Optics, a joint Japanese/Bulgarian team of researchers introduced
ceramic based lasers that are compact, durable and powerful enough to
be used to ignite a fuel/air mixture in a combustion engine. At the
time, the researchers announced that they were working with spark plug
maker Denso on commercializing the idea. That announcement was
followed up by word that Mazda’s next generation “16X” rotary engine
will exploit the compact size of those laser igniters. Now Michigan
auto supplier Federal Mogul has released news about a US patent on
their Advanced Corona Ignition System, or ACIS. Instead of a spark (or
laser) the ACIS uses a high-intensity burst of plasma to ignite the
fuel.

The corona can be controlled more than an electrical spark, allowing
it to spread across the combustion chamber, resulting in a more
complete burn. Federal Mogul says that using ACIS will improve fuel
mileage by as much as 10% over conventional spark plug ignition, in
part due to greater timing precision. That precision is said to be
synergistic with direct injection. ACIS will also, F-M claims, allow
leaner fuel/air mixtures, and cooler running engines. Because they
don’t erode with use as conventional spark plugs do, the corona
igniters will supposedly have longer service lives. No time frame for
commercialization of the ACIS system was announced.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/201...d/#more-414260

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I'll bet it won't be long and we'll have warp drive and force fields
too.

Patrick