The graphite seal used in the Chinese breakthrough is the same one the US defence industry desperately needs
And the material that kept superheated gases from escaping? Essentially the same black mineral found inside a pencil: graphite.
Now, researchers from Northwestern Polytechnical University and the Beijing Power Machinery Institute say they have solved a problem that has stumped engineers for decades.
The engine’s combustion chamber throat – a moving metal component that tightens and relaxes to manage airflow at different speeds – adjusted itself in one third of a second while inhaling gases at 1,650 degrees Celsius, according to a paper published in the Journal of Propulsion Technology on May 28.