The result is that despite the strength of the materials, the process is too expensive to be practical.

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He also blamed rising costs of raw materials and the strength of the yen for contributing to the decline in the overall Bridgestone profits.

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By using lightweight aerospace materials like carbon fiber, which has the strength of steel but weighs one-fifth as much, naval architects can design boats that plane across the surface of the water instead of plowing through it.

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By using lightweight aerospace materials like carbon fiber, which has the strength of steel but weighs a fifth as much, naval architects can design boats that plane across the surface of the water instead of plowing through it.

FORBES: Mine's Lighter

And even though steel and concrete are still the most cost-effective materials, new combinations of these substances provide greater strength and fire retardance, says W. Gene Corley, senior vice president at Construction Technology Laboratories in Skokie, Ill.

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It is interesting that the business association (Fedecameras) complains about the fact that petro-dollars circulating in the market are not a sign of economic strength, because there are shortages of food, medicines and materials.

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Expect styling to come to the fore, as vehicle design is less influenced by safety considerations like visibility, window placement, strength and stiffness of materials, bumpers, crumple zones, collapsible steering columns, air bags, seat belts, and padding.

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Research opportunities include research in the areas of compact energy storage and pulsed power, aerothermal protection systems for flight vehicles, high-strength and dielectric structural materials, and system interfaces between high-power loads and platform power distribution networks.

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