Science: The Exotic Fuels

Question: How to make an airplane or missile fly farther and faster. Answer: Give it fuel that packs more punch.

Last week a super-secret conference met at Dayton's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to discuss high-energy "exotic" fuels, the hottest subject in the air propulsion business. The conference issued no public report, but it is well known that all major engine and rocket-motor manufacturers are experimenting with the new fuels, and that chemical plants are being built to produce them in quantity (TIME, March 18).

High B.T.U. When engineers speak of fuel, they mean any material...

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