Engineering articles

MIT scientists create fiber webs that see
In a radical departure from conventional lens-based optics, MIT scientists have developed a sophisticated optical system made of mesh-like webs of light-detecting fibers

Researchers build tiny batteries with viruses
MIT scientists have harnessed the construction talents of tiny viruses to build ultra-small "nanowire" structures for use in very thin lithium-ion batteries

MIT scientists create fiber webs that see
In a radical departure from conventional lens-based optics, MIT scientists have developed a sophisticated optical system made of mesh-like webs of light-detecting fibers

Researchers identify energy gains and environmental impacts of corn ethanol and soybean biodiesel
The first comprehensive analysis of the full life cycles of soybean biodiesel and corn grain ethanol shows that biodiesel has much less of an impact on the environment and a much higher net energy benefit than corn ethanol, but that neither can do much to meet U.S. energy demand

Movies show nanotubes bend like sluggish guitar strings
In an exciting advance in nanotechnology imaging, Rice University scientists have discovered a way to use standard optical microscopes and video cameras to film individual carbon nanotubes - tiny cylinders of carbon no wider than a strand of DNA

Putting a face on android science by exploting an uncanny valley
We might be more responsive to robots designed to look human rather than mechanical, but other factors may determine what causes us to accept or shun these virtual humans

Sales method pays off for materials scientists
The same computer methods used by online sales sites to suggest books to customers can help predict the crystal structures of materials, MIT researchers have found

Researchers identify energy gains and environmental impacts of corn ethanol and soybean biodiesel
The first comprehensive analysis of the full life cycles of soybean biodiesel and corn grain ethanol shows that biodiesel has much less of an impact on the environment and a much higher net energy benefit than corn ethanol, but that neither can do much to meet U.S. energy demand

Movies show nanotubes bend like sluggish guitar strings
In an exciting advance in nanotechnology imaging, Rice University scientists have discovered a way to use standard optical microscopes and video cameras to film individual carbon nanotubes - tiny cylinders of carbon no wider than a strand of DNA

Putting a face on android science by exploting an uncanny valley
We might be more responsive to robots designed to look human rather than mechanical, but other factors may determine what causes us to accept or shun these virtual humans

Sales method pays off for materials scientists
The same computer methods used by online sales sites to suggest books to customers can help predict the crystal structures of materials, MIT researchers have found

New chip design delivers better performance, longer battery life for cell phones, wifi, and other wireless communications
Anyone who uses a cell phone or a WiFi laptop knows the irritation of a dead-battery surprise

Graphene provides foundation for new electronics
A study of how electrons behave in circuitry made from ultrathin layers of graphite – known as graphene – suggests the material could provide the foundation for a new generation of nanometer scale devices that manipulate electrons as waves – much like photonic systems control light waves

Nanogenerator to power nanoscale devices
Researchers have developed a new technique for powering nanometer-scale devices without the need for bulky energy sources such as batteries

Finding a better way to make biodiese
They're only 250 billionths of a meter in diameter. But fill them with the right chemistry and Iowa State scientists say the tiny nanospheres they've developed could revolutionize how biodiesel is produced

Bacs breathes perception into robots
The Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics is a partner in the Integrated Research Project BACS (Bayesian Approach to Cognitive Systems), which is being sponsored by the EU and will run until 2010.

In a vehicle rollover, beware the "outside arc"
If a vehicle carrying a driver and front-seat passenger careens around a corner and rolls over, which occupant would sustain the worst injuries and have the least chance of survival?

Material could lead to new generation of electronics
Researchers at Oregon State University have discovered a "dielectric" characteristic of an existing compound that might be used in the electronics industry to address heat buildup, one of the fundamental limiting factors in making small computers and other electronic devices.

High-tech hydrogen scooter designed to sell clean
An Industrial Design Engineering graduate from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has designed and built a working prototype of a scooter, which can be powered by hydrogen.

Fingertip device helps computers read hand gestures
With the tap of a single finger, computer users soon may be drawn deeper into the virtual world using a new device developed in the University at Buffalo's Virtual Reality Lab.