engineering
Gravity Could Solve Clean Energy’s One Major Drawback
Finding green energy when the winds are calm and the skies are cloudy has been a challenge. Storing it in giant concrete blocks could be the answer.
This New Tech Cuts Through Rock Without Grinding Into It
A startup called Petra uses super-hot gas to penetrate bedrock. The method could make it cheaper to move utilities underground—and make electric lines safer.
This Groundbreaking Simulator Generates a Huge Indoor Ocean
It’s a 32,000-gallon concrete tank with a wind tunnel grafted on top. With it, researchers can study the seas—and climate change—like never before.
Greg LeMond and the Amazing Candy-Colored Dream Bike
The Tour de France legend and anti-doping crusader is building an ultralight ebike that he hopes will be fun as hell to ride—and jumpstart a US carbon-fiber boom.
This Barnacle-Inspired Glue Seals Bleeding Organs in Seconds
The paste sticks onto wet tissue firmly by repelling blood. Surgeons hope it can save time—and lives.
This Device Could Tune Your Heart—Then Dissolve Away
The latest in “electronic medicine” offers an alternative to temporary pacemakers and could help reduce tissue scarring.
The Race to Put Silk in Nearly Everything
The fiber has been considered a “miracle material” for anything from body parts to food. Has the revolution finally arrived?
A $26 Billion Plan to Save the Houston Area From Rising Seas
Lawmakers are poised to decide the fate of a massive project to protect the Texas coast from surging seawater.
This Human-Sized Origami Reimagines Emergency Shelters
When flat, the structure is about the size of a twin mattress. But when it's inflated, walls widen, and a roof snaps into place.
Researchers Are Studying These Worm Blobs to Build Robots
These crawlers form clumps to protect the collective. Understanding their movement gives engineers a model for shape-shifting robot swarms.
Researchers Levitated a Small Tray Using Nothing but Light
One day a “magic carpet” based on this light-induced flow technology could carry climate sensors high in the atmosphere—wind permitting.
A Race Car Crash From Hell—and the Science That Saved Its Driver
Romain Grosjean’s F1 car slammed into a wall at 137 mph and burst into flames. He walked away because of decades of work by unsung scientists and engineers.
Covid-19 Testing Is Expensive. It Doesn't Have to Be
The diagnostics industry favors wealthy countries, but the rest of the world needs tests too. One Stanford bioengineer thinks "frugal science" can help.
Coming Soon: A Nuclear Reactor—With a 3D-Printed Core
A nuclear reactor core is one of the most extreme human-made environments on the planet. These scientists just figured out how to print one.
After 60 Years, Explosion-Powered Rockets Are Nearly Here
Rotating detonation engines could make rockets lighter, faster, and simpler. First imagined in the 1950s, they’re now almost ready for their first flight.
When Government Fails, Makers Come to the Rescue
Need masks and face shields? You got it. A network of tinkerers comes in handy when lives are on the line and the authorities are asleep at the wheel.
Construction Workers Embrace the Robots That Do Their Jobs
A robotic excavator can dig a pipeline trench without a human in the cab. An engineers' union is partnering with the company that makes the tech.
The Factory Where They Engineer Massive Water Art Pieces
WET, a preeminent water design firm, uses supercomputers and other cutting-edge technology to build the most iconic fountains and water features in the world.
Why the Porsche Taycan's Two-Speed Gearbox Is Such a Big Deal
Want to improve an EV’s range by 5 percent, or pump up its top speed? Trying shifting gears.
With the Taycan, Porsche Launches into the Electric Future
The German automaker's new all-electric sports sedan has the specs and techs to make even petrol-chugging gearheads drool.
Bugatti's Chiron Clocks 305 MPH Thanks to Top-Notch Tires
Clever engineering and x-rayed tires pushed the latest version of the Chiron past the 300 mph barrier.
How 'Microcracks' Undermined San Francisco's New Bus Terminal
A cracked beam forced the $2.2 billion terminal’s closure after six weeks. Unraveling why required physics, metallurgy, and engineers with nerves of steel.
A Very Fast Spin Through the Hills in a Hybrid Porsche 911
Vonnen's Shadow Drive system adds an electric motor—and a whole lot of power—to the venerable sports car.
A New Tire Makes Driving Electric as Quiet as It Should Be
The Turanza QuietTrack has specially designed threads to hush the pesky "pattern noise" that's especially noticeable in cars without loud engines.