New Rotating Detonation Engine Could Enable Cheaper, Lighter Spacecraft
It takes a lot of fuel to launch something into space. Sending NASA’s Space Shuttle into orbit required more than 3.5 million pounds of fuel,…
Mechanical Engineering
Slithering Snakes on a 2D Plane – Search and Rescue Robots Inspired by Snakes [Video]
Snakes live in diverse environments ranging from unbearably hot deserts to lush tropical forests, where they slither up trees, rocks and shrubbery every day. By…
New Method for Analyzing Metal Developed by U.S. Army Researchers
Warfighters on the battlefield often rely on machines, vehicles and other technologies with rotating parts to complete their mission. Army researchers have devised a new…
Low-Cost RFID “Smart” Diaper Can Let You Know When It’s Wet
Design combines a common diaper material with RFID technology. For some infants, a wet diaper is cause for an instant, vociferous demand to be changed,…
“Shocking” Results When WWI Helmets Were Compared to Modern Military Designs
WWI helmets protect against shock waves just as well as modern design. French Adrian helmet suggests simple geometry may save brains from overhead blasts. Biomedical…
18 Reasons Why Megaprojects Fail and 54 Preventative Solutions
Academics at University College London have identified 18 reasons why megaprojects such as HS2 and Crossrail often fail, as well as 54 preventative solutions. For…
Previously Unknown Relationship Between Curvature and Toughness in Layered Materials Has Implications for Bio-Inspired Composites
Engineers looking to nature for inspiration have long assumed that layered structures like those found in mollusk shells enhance a material’s toughness, but a study…
New Droplet-Based Electricity Generator: A Drop of Water Can Light Up 100 LED Bulbs
Generating electricity from raindrops efficiently has gone one step further. A research team led by scientists from the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has recently…
Hydrogel Enables Ingestible Medical Devices That Can Be Broken Down With Light
New light-sensitive material could eliminate some of the endoscopic procedures needed to remove gastrointestinal devices. A variety of medical devices can be inserted into the…
Scientific Mystery About Evaporation Solved After 20 Years of Conflicting Findings
Work has implications for power generation, desalination, electronics. Evaporation can explain why water levels drop in a full swimming pool, but it also plays an…
Spider-Man-Style Robotic Graspers Defy Gravity – Secret Is High-Speed Rotating Water Rings
Centrifugal force from a high-speed rotating water ring enables gripping rough surfaces. Specially designed vacuum suction units allow humans to climb walls. Scientists have developed…
BBQ Lighter Transformed Into a High-Tech Lab Device
Researchers have devised a straightforward technique for building a laboratory device known as an electroporator – which applies a jolt of electricity to temporarily open…
More Efficient Thermal Cooling Method Bioinspired by Plants
McKelvey Engineering Mechanical Engineer Creates Bioinspired Evaporation Technique When drops of water touch the surface of a lotus flower leaf, they form beads and roll…
What Exactly Makes One Knot Better Than Another Has Not Been Well-Understood – Until Now
How Strong Is Your Knot? With help from spaghetti and color-changing fibers, a new mathematical model predicts a knot’s stability. In sailing, rock climbing, construction,…
U.S. Army’s Top 10 Science and Technology Advances of 2019 [Video]
This year has had its share of science and technology advances from Army researchers. The U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory, the Army’s corporate research…
Ultra-Light Robotic Insect Uses Soft Artificial Muscles to Move – Survives Being Flattened by a Fly Swatter
Researchers at EPFL have developed an ultra-light robotic insect that uses its soft artificial muscles to move at 3 cm per second across different types…
MIT Scientists Achieve New Breakthrough in Alzheimer’s Research
Study finds that Alzheimer’s damage allows toxins to enter the brain, further harming neurons. Beta-amyloid plaques, the protein aggregates that form in the brains of…
New Technique Identifies Electricity-Producing Bacteria
Microbes screened with a new microfluidic process might be used in power generation or environmental cleanup. Living in extreme conditions requires creative adaptations. For certain…