It is also a vital component of high-voltage wires, magnetic coatings for high-density hard disk drives, fiber optics, fiberglass, catalytic converters and spark plugs.

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The Zonda looks like what it is, a domesticated Le Mans prototype, a hard-eyed courtesan in a carbon-fiber corset laced with an assassin's piano wire.

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The 787, the first jetliner made from a majority of lightweight carbon fiber composites, eliminates hot, heavy and hard-to-maintain pneumatic systems that power key parts of the jet.

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The beauty of fiber optic communications systems is that they are very hard to penetrate - unless, that is, you own the infrastructure and, therefore, have physical control of its cable lines.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Strategic fire-sale

The hype declared this: When the kinks are worked out, theaters will be able to download movies to hard drives from DVD-ROMs or digital files received via satellite or fiber-optic lines.

FORBES: Pixel Perfect

An underwater fiber cable linking Cuba and Venezuela has given the island a hard connection to the internet since 2011, but reports have said that only government bodies from both countries have used the line.

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