> Lubricants in bearings and gear units ensure that not too much energy
> is lost through friction. Yet it still takes a certain percentage of
> the energy to compensate for friction losses. Lubricants made of
> liquid crystals could reduce friction to almost zero.
> http://www.getclub.com/Show/view.php?best=Articles&itemid=24
> (Published at Sciencedaily)
> With these Lubricants we may see more efficient cars and bykes. And
> also it will boost all Machines used in Production. Saving lots of
> energy. And Trans****tation costs will go down.
Most bearings, gears, pistons/cylinders and other wear surfaces are
designed so that fricition with conventional lubricants is < 5% output
so there isn't much room for improvement as far as directly saving
energy in conventional machinery is concerned.
If wind resistance is a factor then the advantage would be even less.
The only way to get real energy savings from a super lubricant is that
it could result in so much less wear than conventional lubricants that
previously impractical designs, i. e., lighter gears made of softer
materials, could suddenly become attractive.
Bret Cahill
