Bill Daniels write:

"Jim Carriere writes:

.. From an engineering perspective, 0.25 lb/hp/hr is,
uh, extraordinary to say the least. Think of it like the internal
combustion engine's answer to cold fusion.

The gigiantic Sulzer marine diesels only get 0.278 lbs per hp per hour
on heavy bunker oil. That's about as good as it gets.
See: http://www.bath.ac.uk/~ccsshb/12cyl/

While I agree that the Bourke engine is vaporware, and doesn't/can't
achieve a BSFC of .25 lb/hp/hr, the web page you point to explicitly
states that the Sulzer diesel can achieve .26 lb/hp/hr.

Going from .26 to .25 is an advance of 4% - I hardly think that a BSFC
of 4% better than the best existing internal combustion engine puts it
into the category of cold fusion, or makes it violate the laws of
physics, as another poster implied.

Hyperbole isn't necessary here - no small internal combustion engine has
ever gotten near .25, and the Bourke engine certainly doesn't, but it IS
theoretically possible. Using ceramic materials instead of metals may
someday get us there.

--
Marc J. Zeitlin
http://www.cozybuilders.org/
Copyright (c) 2005