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-PAG9:20,;H fflff»,TÇPN-A,[~219 Toughr rods from rcycled plastic by JiI Melntosh, Brakes keepgetting betfi Over the lasi b -undred years cars bave certainly changed. But if somoone were to ask me what area bas improved the mont, I would answer without hesitation:, brakes. Many people think of brakes as mysterious systemns requiring expensive repairs., But they are actually relatively smp le, long-lasting considoring wht they go throughasd aise essential. rd irather,,have a -car- that doesnt start than one that won't stop. The oarliest cars didn't have brakes; if you wanted te stop, you prut the transmission into reverse. Itsounds absurd, but back thon 10 mphwýs a blinding speod and there wasn't much on the road te bit. (0f course that didn't mesu there were no bad drivers. In 1904, there were only two cars in aIl of Kansas City, but they stilI managod te, run into oach othor.) Cars improved sud roads got botter (poor ronds wore a major reason for slow speeds), sud the nood te stop becamo important. At first, brakes woro operated mochanically but evontually al automakers switehed to, hydraulic brakes, the type stili usod teday. Early models only had rear brakes and, whon four-wheol systoms were introduced,- many smaller carmakers didnWt want to spend tho money for retooling. Studebakor even teok oui ads in newspapers warning the public that four-wheel brakes were unsafe. The caxnjéign was unsuc- eessful, sud today ove vebicle uses the basic system of hyaulic brakes on ail four wheels, plus a er manuel parking brake on the roar onos. Misc brakes' consist of a round motal plate or 'rotor" which sits verticelly bebind the tire. Motal pads are held against ihemn inside a caliper, .wbich contains 'a hydraulic -cylinder. When ibis cylinder expands, it squeezes the pads egainst the roter sud the resulting friction stops the wbeel. 'Dram' brakesaie woi~k with friction but, instead of pads 'they have curved motal shoos which. are pushod out by the clindor against a rotating drurm. iàke the roterP the dram sits vertically belund the tires. They are 'bydraulie' because they are operated by fluid. Your brake pedal. is attachod te 'a igatr linder,' a etnua bRX locatel undor the ho o hn you push the pedal, you force brake fluid out of this box inte linos which reach te the wheel cylinders. This fluid causes the expansion of the cylinder. 0f the two, disc brakes aro botter. Older cars (1960s and down).used only drum brakes on ail four wheels, but witb the introduction of discs, carniakers adopted dise brakes on the front wheels sud drum brakes on tho rear. Most 0f today's cars stilI use discs-and-drums, but more expensive models offer four dises. Some elso combine this witb su 'anti-bock' feature. A eomputer monitors tbe wheels and, if they start te slide, it will pump the brakes much faster than a person csu, avoiding skcidding. Even master cylinders have SEE PAGE 21 Ontari' growing traffic and harsh weather exact a hoavy toil on our roods. The hot summer sun softens the asphait, often forming ruts in theroad, under heavy trafflc loads. In the winter, bitter cold can turn-the asphait brittie, allowing it to snap like cold taffy. The resuit: potholes, bumps in the road, and growing road repair bills. S To combat this problem, special plastics are increasingly boing added to, the asphait, especialIy for use along heavily-travellod bighways. The long'plastic molocules 'knit' the asphait together, rosulting in a road surface thati. more flexible in the summer and stronger in the- wintor. The road will last longer, under hoavier loads at bothhgh sud low temperatures. Researhers supported by the Ontario Centre for Materials Research (0CMR) are adding a new twist to this idea. Instead of miig costly, -custom-mado plsisinto -theasphait, OCMR, resoarchers are investigating the use of waste plastics such as old niilk jugesud even tires. Road coinstructioni reportOn radio The Ontario Ministry of Transportation and the Ontario Ministry of Tourism sud RLecreation will combine. efforts this summer to provido information to the provinco's radio stations with broadcasts on highway construction.. Updated overy other Thursday, the 90-second reports will be available to Ontario-wide radio stations for local rebroedcast. They will include information on, highway construction locations, closures and lane reductions so, that travellers can avoid affected areas. T7ravellers are reminded that up-to-date information on highway conditions province-wide can ho obtained by calling the Ministry of., Transportation at (416) 235-1110, or the Ministiy of Tourism sud Recreation at l-800-Ontario. "It makes a lot of senso," says Anthony Redpath, an offici.l with 0CMR, one. 0f Ontario's seven research centres 0f excellence. "By recycling scrap plastic as asphalt modifiers., we could extend the lives of roads 'and also relievesome of the pressure on SER PAGE 21 THE HONOURABLE Jenny Cartr,.Ontario Minis-' ter of Energy announced her nîinistry's grant- of $3009000 to General Motors. G.M.L will use the money to. develop and test an epoxy die> system that could save up to 90 _per cent in energy for the toohng of auto parts. Carter (above) is given a tour of the epoxy faeility, including the latest in high-tech computer systems. 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