Engineering

A guide to the structures, machines, and systems that power and connect our world.

Latest in Engineering

Artemis patch against capsule window in Orion with Earth beneath it

Why you can’t see space junk in Artemis II photos

a black machine with a red blob of jello on top.

Giant Jell-O measures crowd volume in wobbles

By Mack DeGeurin

A colorized historical photograph captures a group of railroad workers posing with a large steam locomotive on a wooden trestle bridge. The workers, a diverse group including several men in rough work clothes and hats, are clustered around the front of the black engine, which features a prominent cone-shaped smokestack. The trestle bridge curves through a dense evergreen forest with a rocky hillside in the background, illustrating the challenging terrain of early American railroad construction.

7 captivating photos of train travel’s first century

A retro-style color illustration depicts a cross-section of a futuristic multi-tiered moving sidewalk system. A group of elegantly dressed commuters from the mid-20th century stand on an elevated, reddish-brown platform that is supported by a series of visible white mechanical rollers. The illustration shows three parallel platforms layered at slightly different heights to indicate varying speeds, with a dark subterranean tunnel and a stationary train car visible in the lower-left corner.

In 1871, cities almost got moving sidewalks. Why are we still waiting?

By Bill Gourgey

A side view of the command center when engineers would keep tabs on the Voyager’s journey (left). Members of the Artemis II launch team, including personnel with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems participate in an emergency escape or egress demonstration simulation for the Artemis II mission inside Firing Room 1 in the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy on August 12, 2024. (right)

NASA’s 1977 computers aboard Voyager are still working in interstellar space

By Mack DeGeurin

an orange rocket lifting off against a blue sky. puffy white smoke is at its base

Space now has 10 toilets

By Laura Baisas

a smiling man in a yellow hooded sweatshirt wears a virtual reality headset over his eyes

Skull vibrations could be your next password

By Laura Baisas

A regular size Cadbury Mini Egg compared with The Mega Mini Egg. The giant chocolate egg clocks in at 121 pounds.

World’s largest Cadbury Mini egg weighs as much as an emu

By Laura Baisas

two soldiers standing in a dirty field wearing exoskeletons on their legs

Ukraine’s military brings exoskeletons to the front line

By Mack DeGeurin

Little baby and stack of diapers on bed, closeup

Japan makes breakthrough in dirty diaper recycling

The World's Largest Dinosaur attraction in Drumheller, Canada

World’s Largest Dinosaur needs a new home

a row of collared t-shirts in rainbow order. red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple

Walmart and H&M are trying to turn carbon dioxide into clothes

By Mack DeGeurin

A colorized historical photograph of prolific inventor Beulah Louise Henry, known as "Lady Edison," seated at a desk. She is dressed in a formal purple satin dress and pearls, operating a complex, specialized typewriter of her own design. She is looking down at a sheet of paper she is feeding into the machine.

Inventor Beulah Louise Henry’s unstoppable rise to becoming ‘Lady Edison’

By Shoshi Parks

Two men standing next to boiler setup in pump station

Volunteers spend 30 years restoring a Victorian sewer pump station

a bright red robot with large black wheels sits outside of a fire station

Autonomous firefighting robot can drive straight into a 1,000 degree blaze

By Mack DeGeurin

the front of a steam locomotive. it is black and reads "union pacific 4014"

World’s largest steam locomotive heads out on tour

By Laura Baisas

A DIY Lego mechanical typewriter sitting on a desk

Man builds functional typewriter out of Lego bricks

a turtle wearing a 3D printed wheel chair

A 3D-printed wheelchair is helping this turtle walk again

By Mack DeGeurin

Minamitorishima island in Pacific Ocean seen from above

Japan eyes distant island for nuclear waste dump

Man pointing with stick at chalkboard diagram of AM radio setup

Watch a classified FM radio training video from WW2