Engineering

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

Latest in Engineering

Researchers holding smartphone up to computer monitor to test world's smallest QR code

World’s smallest QR code is thinner than a lightwave

Handing winding a series of brass gears that comprise an interplanetary clock device

What time is it on Mars? This analog ‘Interplanetary Clock’ can tell you.

Hand pointing at DIY electric chessboard with bunches of wires underneath it

Man builds electrified chessboard that shocks players for bad moves

a truck spraying a pothole in front of a house

Asphalt-spraying truck fixes potholes in minutes

By Mack DeGeurin

Nike yellow basketball shoes on parquet floor during basketball match of Ukrainian Superleague Parimatch SEASON 2020/21 BC "Kharkiv Sokoly» - MBC "Nikolaev", 31.01.2021, Ukraine, Kharkov, Palace of Sports "Lokomotiv"

Physics discovery explains why sneakers squeak

Interior of classic opera house

Color plays an unsung role in how we enjoy concerts

Lisbon, Portugal - September 24, 2021: TAP Air Portugal Airbus A330-900neo airplane at Lisbon airport (LIS) in Portugal.

Techno DJ jailed after selling 60,000 fake plane parts to major airlines

Crane placing final part of cross atop Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona, Spain

After 144 years, world’s tallest church finally finishes exterior

An 1870 sepia-toned photograph of Crawford Market in Mumbai, featuring its prominent stone clock tower and Gothic-style architecture with arched windows. In the foreground, people walk along a dirt road near a horse-drawn carriage and a vintage street lamp.

The history of clocks is one of tyranny and revolution

a hand moves pieces on a brown and black chess board

Homemade chess board moves its own pieces. And wins.

By Mack DeGeurin

VAL D'ISERE FRANCE. 19-12-2010. Lindsey Vonn (USA) during the Super Giant Slalom section of the women's Super Combined race at the FIS Alpine skiing World Cup Val D'Isere France.

Downhill skiing’s biggest hurdle? Friction.

A portrait of two brothers, Nico and Matteo Mucchetti, posing with their homemade, full-sized replica of a purple ride vehicle from Disney's "Big Hero 6" attraction. The younger brother sits inside the purple wooden structure, which is detailed with orange accents and a string of LED lights along the edge, while the older brother leans over the back. They are positioned in a dimly lit room, creating a dramatic spotlight effect on them and their project.

Teen brothers build a Disney-inspired ride in family basement

By Laura Kiniry

An illustration symbolizes new battery technology: Proteins (red) hold tiny clusters of metal (silver). Each yellow ball in the structures at center represents a single atom of nickel or iron. Credit: Maher El-Kady / UCLA

Thomas Edison’s failed rechargeable battery may get a second life

Candidates for Luna 9's landing site. Credit: Pinault et al.

Astronomers close in on long-lost Soviet lunar lander

a tatoo-like image of the mona lisa printed on synthetic skin

Synthetic skin reveals hidden ‘Mona Lisa’ when exposed to heat

By Mack DeGeurin

a man holds a light blue torch and a flame

MIT professor designs 2026 Winter Olympics torch

By Laura Baisas

a pulley system with a ceiling fan chain

Man solves ceiling fans’ most annoying problem

By Mack DeGeurin

Large group of used dirty sleeping mattresses. Abandoned in wild landfill

Fungi help turn old mattresses into insulation

a stingray swimming in clear blue water

Stingray-inspired robot cracks the mystery of how rays swim

By Mack DeGeurin

a black robot shaped like a human hand

This robot hand can detach from its arm and crawl around

By Mack DeGeurin