Engineering (Page 3)

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

Latest in Engineering

two park rangers sink in a cardboard boat

Ready, Set, Paddle! Scenes from The Great Salem Maritime Cardboard Boat Regatta

By Popular Science Team

a broken payphone (left) and a refurbished one (right)

In Vermont, one man is bringing pay phones back to life

By Mack DeGeurin

a wearable robot vest, with long grey sleeves and sensors in a lab

Balloon-equipped ‘wearable robot’ could help stroke survivors

By Mack DeGeurin

a large rock looking object called a fatberg on display in a museum. it is a big blob of fat, oil, and grease that clogged sewers

Stopping fatbergs before they cost millions to remove

By Laura Baisas

Sailing stone in Death Valley with movement trail behind hit

Ice moves by itself on experimental metal surface

Illustration of suspension bridge connecting mainland Italy to Sicily

World’s longest suspension bridge may finally link Sicily to mainland Italy

3D printing tackles titanium to create rocket parts

The U.S. Space Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Mission Seven successfully landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, March 7, 2025. The X-37B landed at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, to exercise the service's ability to recover the spaceplane across multiple sites. (U.S. Space Force courtesy photo)

Space Force schedules the next mission for its secret robot plane

a painting showing the lava flows of mount vesuvius

Engineers bring a 250-year-old mechanical painting of Mount Vesuvius to fiery life

By Laura Baisas

a 3d printer on a counter

3D printer transforms food waste into coffee mugs and coasters

By Mack DeGeurin

3D printed house in Japan

This 3D-printed home is built from dirt

Used cigarettes in ashtray

Recycled cigarette butts can make roads more durable

Mechanical computer device built from Knex parts

Inventor builds mechanical computer with thousands of Knex pieces

Six Tesla electric cars burn on the trailer of the moving lorry carrying them after one of them catches on fire due to unknown reasons in Istanbul, Turkiye on October 06, 2023. (Photo by Muhammed Gencebay Gur/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

New lithium batteries have built-in fire extinguishers

Pitcher throwing cricket ball towards batter with catcher in background

What’s the safest helmet?

hand holding aluminum ion trap for atomic clock

World’s most accurate clock requires a 2-mile laser beam

Two wheel DIY Fiat Panda fit between two regular sized cars

Man cuts Fiat down to 19.7-inch, mind-bending ride

teen boy standing next to two hexagonal structures filled with bees

This teen 3D-printed a beehive for his bedroom

By Mack DeGeurin

Macy's fireworks display over Manhattan on the 4th of July

How pyrotechnic wizards orchestrate the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks

Drawer for recycling electronics

Your outdated tech might be a ‘goldmine’

By Mack DeGeurin

a device on the seafloor

How listening to light waves could prevent subsea cables sabotage

By Mack DeGeurin

Air conditioner in house window on Summer day.

New paint ‘sweats’ to keep buildings cool

2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1; Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas; May 20, 2025 (Richard Prince Photo)

The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is a stunning piece of engineering

text in the background, a man sitting at the first tv in foreground

100 years ago, the battle for television raged

By Bill Gourgey

Alarm clock on a blue and beige background

Scientists are redefining time itself, starting with the second

By Mack DeGeurin

yellow robot hand

Researchers create most human-like robot skin yet

By Mack DeGeurin

Quantum Random Number Generator machine

Here’s how to generate a truly random number with quantum physics

a vechile in a field

This ‘dual-use’ electric tractor can sow fields and run guns

By Mack DeGeurin

Nanoscale violin etching seen in microscope

The world’s smallest violin is thinner than a human hair

Screenshot of small orb rolling vertically down glass surface

Vertically rolling ball ‘challenges our basic understanding of physics’

bearded man with sensors on face

Electronic face tattoo knows when you’re getting bored

By Mack DeGeurin

machine sitting on a roof in NYC

Refrigerator-sized machine makes gasoline out of thin air

By Mack DeGeurin

Close up of Rubik's cube solving machine

College students demolish world record for fastest Rubik’s cube robot

a mine opening with tracks running in

How an abandoned mine became Korea’s moon lab

an aerial train car set on top of text

A century ago, suspended monorails were serious mass-transit contenders

By Bill Gourgey

CGI recreation of Athena statue in the Parthenon

View the Parthenon as it stood in 432 BCE

Inflatable flailing tube man balloon against blue sky

Flailing tube man-inspired robot uses no electronics

Close up of MingKwai keyboard with Chinese characters on keys

First Chinese typewriter rediscovered in grandfather’s basement

Nuclear fusion reactor module section in construction facility

New nuclear fusion reactor’s electromagnet could lift 10 monster trucks

Passengers inside the cabin of a commercial airliner during flight. Shallow depth of field with focus on the seats in the foreground.

Why are airline seats so small? It all started in 1978.

By Mack DeGeurin

Slate EV truck and SUV upgrade next to each other in warehouse

Minimalist EV pickup truck has no stereo and a $20,000 price tag

unfinished Goldin Finance 117 skyscraper surrounded by city on a sunny day

World’s tallest abandoned skyscraper resumes construction

Photo of long barrel of NASA's gas gun in warehouse

Watch high-powered gas guns blast space habitat (for science)

Close image of sun's surface depicting sunspot

World’s largest solar telescope shows off its full force with new image

This sticker reads emotions (even the ones you try to hide)

By Mack DeGeurin

An osprey sits on its nest protected by a human-made basket.

To protect birds and motorists, engineers build a steel nest box on bridge

By Laura Baisas

World War II jeep found at site of underwater shipwreck

NOAA needs help identifying car found in WWII shipwreck

George Lucas, Doug Chiang, and John Knoll in a scene from Lucasfilm's LIGHT & MAGIC, Season 2, exclusively on Disney+.

Q&A: The legendary VFX artist who brought Captain Davy Jones, ‘The Abyss,’ and more to life

By Laura Baisas

Huajiang Canyon Bridge seen from above

World’s tallest bridge nears completion in China

Lunar rover prototype in parking lot

All-terrain space truck hopes to drive astronauts on the moon

Four urinals mounted on tiled wall

New urinal designs use physics to prevent pee splashback

Concept art showing augmented reality smart glass window in airplane cabin

Smart glass windows would beam in-flight info over scenic views

University of Kentucky basketball arena filled with people

Would you play basketball on a glass floor? This German startup thinks you should.

a gloved hand hold circular hydrogel

3D-printed ‘skin’ could make testing cosmetics on animals obsolete

By Mack DeGeurin

close up of finger balancing a grain of rice next to tiny pacemaker for size comparison

World’s smallest pacemaker is the size of a grain of rice

Concept art depicting a portion of the Future Circular Collider particle accelerator

The atom-smashing Large Hadron Collider’s successor will be 56 miles wide

Bridge over water in Rio Vista, California

Billionaire utopian city launches new shipyard plan

Transparent wood sample overlaying 'Transparent wood (TW)' on computer screen

Eggs, sticky rice, and transparent wood create new kind of window

a sports car in motion

The symphonic sounds of the McLaren 750S are a feat of engineering

By Kristin Shaw

Atlas robot doing a somersault

Humanoid robots are breakdancing, with mixed results

Close up of hand wearing SpellRing device on thumb

Wearable ring translates sign language into text

Hand holding titanium heart implant against black background

In world first, man leaves hospital with titanium heart

Compilation of Guthman Music Competition participants

Electromagnetic fields and dinosaur choir win international instrument contest

a man in a diving tube on text

100 years of deep-sea filmmaking and ocean exploration

By Bill Gourgey