Cars to Be Started By Lasers

The hum of a light saber may have you thinking of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, but I doubt it conjures images of an idling car.

A team of scientists from the UK have announced that they’ve developed a car ignition system that uses laser beams. In the current spark plug system, the spark plugs are located at the top or bottom of a cylinder, which causes them to fail if the car’s gas isn’t in position upon starting. The lasers are supposed to remedy this by using optical fibers to send power to the car’s battery, which is said to be a straight, surer path to ignite the vehicle through heat.

The joint science team, out of Liverpool University, has partnered with Ford in the technological development. Said to be “more reliable and efficient” than the spark plug technology we use now, it’s supposedly a better way to start cars during cold weather or damp conditions.

This feels like yet another study spent on wasted time and money with frivolous outcomes.

Team leader Dr. Tom Shenton says, “We are running engines every day in our lab with this system now and our ultimate objective is to have it inside cars driven by consumers… This can really improve the performance of the engine when it is cold, as this is the time when around 80% of the exhaust emissions are produced.”

Ford is even planning on putting the technology to use in its vehicles. Shouldn’t Ford be focusing more on eco-friendly developments rather than Star Wars features?

It turns out, they are. The laser can partially be reflected back into the cylinder to provide the car with the ability to adjust its own quanitites of air and fuel, which is supposed to create a better overall performance and optimal energy use. And the laser does use less power than the traditional spark plug system, though still needing to fire more than 50 times each second in order to work.

What all this means is that mixed fuel cars, which run on other biofuels besides gasoline, could be more of a commonplace possibility with this new technology.

Now you’re talking!

Ford released this statement about the laser technology: “Ford, like all vehicle manufacturers, is obliged by European legislation to reduce emissions.” The Carbon Trust has even awarded the program 200,000 pounds to help speed up development.

How about sending a little of that eco-friendly auto attitude our way, Europe?