[Shop-talk] Nova - PBS show

[John T. Blair]

Speaking of that show, anyone know much about carbon fiber?

There was a company in CO that was designing a very strong light
car with something like 14 body panels that were to be glued together.
They are using carbon fiber for the panels.

There was a movie out, within the last year or so, that feature the private
collection of the film maker.  They were all exotics.  After the movie was
finished, as some sort of a promotion for it, they sponcered something like
an autocross.  One of the actors in the movie was driving a Ferrari owned
by the file maker.  Coming into a turn, the driver looses it and hits a jersey
wall.  It didn't look like too bad a crash and if it had been a regular car, it
looked like it should have been repairable.  But they said it totaled the
Ferarri - supposedly a $1,000,000 car!

My understand was that the car was carbon fiber, and the shock of the
impact was transfered through the body and trashed most of the strucutral
pats of the car.

Now my question is this:  Is this correct?  If so, I don't see carbon fiber as
a material for the main body/structural components of a car.  This would
mean that most wrecks were then totals for ther cars.  This should make
insurance go through the ceiling, as if they aren't high enough already.

John



John T. Blair  WA4OHZ     email:  jblair1948 at cox.net
Va. Beach, Va
Phone:  (757) 495-8229

           48 TR1800    48 #4 Midget    65 Morgan 4/4 Series V (B1106)
      75 Bricklin SV1 (#0887)    77 Spitfire    71 Saab Sonett III
                        65 Rambler Classic

Morgan:    www.team.net/www/morgan
Bricklin:  www.bricklin.org

If you can read this             - Thank a teacher!
If you are reading it in English - Thank a Vet!!