Given that the engines in use today in vehicles are heat engines, and
the fuels that are used to provide that heat have specific values of
BTU's per pound, how does one increase fuel efficiency, i.e., increase
the miles per gallon on fuel?

Reduce vehicle weight is one way.
Reduce friction.
Streamlining for the vehicle.
Better fuel metering.
Congress legislating that it be so??

What else???

Is it really possible to get more BTU's from a pound of fuel than a
pound of fuel has??  What good does better mixture control and
vaporization actually do? Given better mixture control and vaporization,
can fuel efficiency actually be increased beyond where it is now, just
on that basis?

The whole business about fuels and fuel efficiencies is about energy
exchange without energy loss. Is it possible??

Given E = MC2, - the potential for large energy release from a tiny bit
of matter - we have so much "potential" energy in the form of solid
matter that it is mindboggling, yet even with Einstein's equation we
cannot tap  that energy in a truly controllable way  The rock simply
sits there or there is a big "Bang". Doesn't seem to be any "In between"
point where we can meter off a bit of all that energy as we need it. I
suppose one might consider an atomic pile as a controlled metering, but
it is really a a controlling of natural radiation being emitted from a
radio active substance. Not quite the same as deliberately  "cracking"
an atom of inert solid matter in a controlled way to siphon off a
specific amount of it's energy.

I really would like to be able to stick my banana peel and  a beer - can
and all - into the power generator on my Vanagon and fire up the "Flux
Capacitor".

There it is............this mornings pondering at coffee!

Regards,

John Rodgers
88 GL driver