Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
Ideas aren't easily contained. I suppose it's possible for someone to invent something disruptive, only to sell it to someone else who is unscrupulous, and never utter about it again to anyone, but it's exceedingly unlikely.
If I were an oil company and someone invented something that would put me out of business, I'd buy that thing and then get wealthy off it. If there was a technology that doubles fuel efficiency of an engine, it would hold enormous profit potential even for someone making a living off of selling oil.
Basically the only way for a secret to exist between 2 people is for one of them to be dead. Large conspiracies are nearly impossible to accomplish.
Regarding drug companies; we know practically nothing about human biology. Mapping the human genome is a recent development, and we know practically nothing about it. Understanding physiology is even more difficult than the insanely difficult task of understanding global climate change.
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From time to time,people will ask about the truck,and we'll get into a discussion about mpg,and invariably,they'll bring up experimental,150-mpg,'pre-production' Ford's that were never meant for sale,which fell through the cracks,that their neighbor got a hold of by mistake.
Phil Donahue had the President of General Motors on his show in the late-1960s,and the topic came up about 'secret' technology that had been intentionally withheld from production to force us all to spend more on fuel.
He had heard all the urban legends as well,and had to laugh them off,mentioning something like,when you look into materials technology and thermodynamics these claims cannot withstand scientific scrutiny.
I have a book with twelve-100 mpg carburetors in it,from Lindsey Publishing.
They're real,but the rub is,that for them to work,you must:
*push the car up to 35-mph.
*start the engine.
*drive the car at a steady 35-mph.
*the car won't go faster.
*the car won't go slower.
*the car won't idle.
*however,if you can maintain 35-mph,then you'll see 100-150 mpg,in a V-8 Ford or Mercury of say,the 1950s.