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Reinventing the Wheel
bob zee sent in this link about reinventing the wheel, err, tweel, err, whatever. Wheels are an interesting challenge in engineering design: they need to be hard to be durable, soft for a smooth ride, grippy to grab the road, but smooth to reduce rolling resistance, flexible to absorb shocks, yet stiff to reduce heat build-up, and so on. Rubber tires are a relatively recent invention.
I think this (http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/spotlight/wheels-i mage02.html ) is an example of government research going to a consumer product....
Think large....
No doubt this article submission will get bashed for not being about star wars; but this is a fairly interesting article, if you take the time to read it. I was particularly interested in the fact that this "tire" improves cornering while maintaining a smooth ride. No doubt all the NASCAR fans out there will be happy. While I am sure this is a long way off, it looks promising.
I tried for 5 years to come up with a clever sig...only to realize that I am not clever.
most recently, a few weeks ago when i was in cairo and the taxi driver hit a pothole, bending both rims on the passenger side, leaving the tires flat.
before that, about 2 years ago when i hit a roofing nail, causing a slow leak (woke up the next morning, tire was flat)
then we could also count biking...in which case i've had more than i want to count, and a bike tire that can't go flat would be awfully nice...nothing sucks more than having to stop and patch a tire in the middle of a bike ride...plus having to carry all the tools needed to do the job.
this idea has merits, contrary to what your post seems to imply.