Interesting problem. Kinetic energy is Ek = kv2, where k = 1/2 for Newtonian physics. To double your speed, you need to apply four times the energy. Momentum is p = mv, so doubling your speed doubles your momentum. When you’re in a vehicle collision, it’s your momentum that hurts you as you collide with the car frame around you. Small particles don’t have much mass, but at relativistic speeds they have a lot of momentum.
My background is chemical engineering. From this brief article, it sounds like a decent proposition. Basically taking a diesel engine and powering it with methane, but feeding it excess methane. Enough methane combusts to power the engine, which also powers the downstream processes. The excess methane is reformed to hydrogen without being fully oxidized to carbon dioxide and water. The nascent hydrogen is fed to some downstream process to create methanol.
This seems like a good way to produce a needed fuel / feedstock without additional energy inputs. I would be interested in seeing a full life cycle analysis of the system.
Gotta produce more cannon fodder for the never ending wars. The 80 Years War is going to have some competition.
Seems likes it’s probably another bio based plastic. But it claims to be home compostable and not release any micro plastics, so maybe it really is benign. Before plastic, candy was wrapped in treated paper, maybe it’s more similar to that?