Engineering, features and articles | Educational Science

Apr 5, 2017

Iron Man-Style Exosuit Turns Inventor into Real-Life Superhero

Residents of the quiet town of Salisbury, in the south of England, had no clue until last week that their neighbor, a 38-year-old oil trader named Richard Browning, is a real-life Iron Man in the making. The amateur inventor had been secretly building a jet engine-powered exoskeleton suit, and he...

Apr 5, 2017

Computers of the Future May Be Minuscule Molecular Machines

Zeroes and 1s are so last century. The next computer revolution may rely not on a binary number system, but one that can store millions of pieces of information in the minuscule attributes of molecules, such as orientation, size and color. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the branch...

Apr 10, 2017

Melding Mind and Machine: How Close Are We?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Just as ancient Greeks fantasized about soaring flight, today's imaginations dream of melding minds and machines as a remedy to the pesky problem of human mortality. Can the mind...

Apr 14, 2017

Just Add Heat: New 4D-Printed Objects Morph on Cue

Objects that can change shape within seconds after being exposed to heat demonstrate a novel 4D-printing technique that could one day be used to create medical devices that unfurl on their own in the body during surgical procedures. Engineers created a 3D-printed plastic lattice that quickly expands when submerged in...

Apr 25, 2017

Straight Out of 'Star Wars': This 'Death Star' Laser Actually Works

Though it's not big enough or strong enough to destroy a planet, scientists have developed an amplified laser reminiscent of the Death Star from Star Wars, according to a new study. The futuristic superweapon combines multiple laser beams into one destructive blast, the researchers said. The idea of merging laser...

Apr 27, 2017

Scientists Can Now Create Glass Figurines with a 3D Printer

Intricate glass creations such as miniature castles and tiny pretzels can now be fabricated using 3D printing, according to a new study. The technique could one day be used to manufacture lenses for smartphone cameras as well as other key glass components, researchers said. Archaeological research suggests humans have employed...

Apr 27, 2017

Really Micro Machines: Molecular Cars Prep for First-Ever Race

Tiny vehicles made from a single molecule will go head-to-head in the first ever NanoCar Race tomorrow (April 28), and the competition will be broadcast live on YouTube. The race is made possible by a one-of-a-kind scanning tunneling microscope (STM) at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Toulouse,...

May 2, 2017

Spherical Drone Display Looks Like 360-Degree Flying Screen

Forget plane-pulled banners ― there may be a new way to advertise in the sky. The Japanese telecom company NTT DOCOMO recently revealed what it claims is the world's first spherical drone display. Although it appears to be a solid, globe-shaped screen while in flight, the display is actually an...

May 4, 2017

'Star Wars' Tech: 8 Sci-Fi Inventions and Their Real-Life Counterparts

'Star Wars' Tech The Millennium Falcon battles TIE fighters. (Image credit: Disney/Lucasfilm)A long time ago in a studio far, far away, filmmaker George Lucas created one of the seminal works of science fiction: the Star Wars movie series. Nearly 40 years later, the ideas introduced by the films are still...

May 11, 2017

Laser-Printed Nanotech Makes Colors That Never Fade

Laser printers that sculpt images at miniscule scales could one day make color photos that don't fade over time the way ink does, according to a new study. Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark made a sheet of polymer and semiconductor metal that reflects colors that never fade, using...

May 17, 2017

Stretchy Holograms Could Power 3D, Morphing Projections

Holograms are a staple of science fiction, but the kinds of 3D, multicolored moving images floating in midair from movies like Star Wars are still a long way from reality. Now, though, researchers have developed the world’s first stretchable hologram, which could one day enable holographic animation, according to a...

May 18, 2017

Ultrathin Loudspeaker-Mic Also Generates Energy from Motion

Printed newspapers may be going out of style, but what if you could have a flexible electronic paper that reads headlines or the weather report and skips to the sports section on voice command? Researchers at Michigan State University have developed a sheet-like device — known as a ferroelectret nanogenerator,...

May 28, 2017

How Would Engineers Build the Golden Gate Bridge Today?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Ever since the Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic on May 27, 1937, it's been an iconic symbol on the American landscape. By 1870, people had realized the necessity...

Jun 5, 2017

Inexpensive Kit Offers Augmented Reality Alternative to High-End Headsets

Augmented reality lies at two extremes. On the one side are wearable headsets like Microsoft's HoloLens, which costs between $3,000 and $5,000, and mixes virtual reality with augmented reality for a holographic experience. On the other side are free apps, like Pokémon Go, which use software and your phone's camera...

Jun 20, 2017

10 Real-Life Technologies That Will Turn You Into a Superhero

Science fiction vs. science fact (Image credit: LuckyImages/Shutterstock)Whether you're looking to scale skyscrapers like Spider-Man or wish you could have Wolverine's amazing powers of self-healing, researchers are devising ways to bring extraordinary abilities to the average mortal, and some of these amazing technologies may make you feel like a real-life...