Engineering (Page 4)

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

Latest in Engineering

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

a woman and a patent

The forgotten story of the woman who invented the dishwasher

This artist concept depicts NASA Voyager 1 spacecraft entering interstellar space. Interstellar space is dominated by the plasma, or ionized gas, that was ejected by the death of nearby giant stars millions of years ago.

NASA squeezes more life from 47-year-old Voyager probes

a colorful illustration of an open mouth

New device lets you taste food in virtual reality

By Mack DeGeurin

CR450AF high speed train on track in China with two people looking at it

At 281 mph, China tests its fastest high-speed train

Philippines ocean coast with mountains

Southeast Asian sailors possibly mastered seafaring before Polynesians

Microscopic Lego bricks on pinhead next to human hair

The world’s smallest handmade sculpture is a blood cell-sized Lego brick

Aerial view of Great Wall of China surrounded by forests

The Great Wall of China is 300 years older than we thought

Majorana 1 quantum computing chip

New state of matter powers Microsoft quantum computing chip

View of fog at the Atacama desert in Iquique, some 2000 km north of Santiago, on April 19, 2016. Catholic University of Chile researchers' challenge is to implement a fog collection system -which uses large pieces of vertical canvas to make the fog condense into droplets- in small communities which don't have drinkable water in Atacama desert. / AFP / MARTIN BERNETTI (Photo credit should read MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images)

In the driest place on Earth, water hides in plain sight

By Lauren Leffer

a map of the world with a line representing where the cable would connect

Meta spending billions on world’s longest subsea internet cable

By Mack DeGeurin

Model Muriel Maxwell in white sunglasses putting on lipstick, wearing red-white-and-blue turban, andv holding a red-and-white striped bag *** Local Caption ***

The evolution of sunglasses from science to style (and back again)

Inventor demonstrating modified trumpet invention

The 10 coolest musical instruments you’ll see in 2025

Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Captain America in Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD.

Could we really make Captain America’s shield? A materials scientist weighs in.

By Laura Baisas

a seal with grey coloring wearing an orange heart rate monitor around its abdomen

Baby seals are wearing heart monitors–for science

By Laura Baisas

XB-1 plane taking off in desert

Experimental jet achieves supersonic flight, minus the boom

a car with "NASCAR" on hood parked inside a facility with man standing outside of car

How 3D-printed parts changed the NASCAR Cup Series

By Kristin Shaw

Experimental results of the miniaturized DN2s integrated at the distal facet of a MMF using the 3D GS-TPN fabrication method, showing SEM and white-light microscopy images.

This AI chip is the size of a grain of salt

Crane installing wind turbine wings

New wind turbines will test out the world’s longest wooden blades

Sierra Space Dream Chaser spaceplane landing on runway

Curvy spaceplane is one step closer to its ISS rendezvous

Thermogalvanic fridge prototype device held in blue gloved hand

The electrochemical cells that could power fridges of the future

XB-1 during test flight

Boom Supersonic breaks sound barrier for the first time

Bee with QR sticker held in researcher's hand

Researchers glued teeny-tiny QR codes to 30,000 bees

3D printed gun parts seized by law enforcement

New York considers background check for 3D printers

a beefed-up truck drives across desert dunes

How Ford crafted a Raptor T1+ to race across 5,000 miles of desert

By Kristin Shaw

Mars rover prototype in simulated Martian environment with alloy wheels

NASA teases bendable titanium wheels on future Mars rovers

Woman using old cell phone in Nokia ad

12 Nokia Design Archive photos celebrating peak Y2K tech

By Popular Science Staff

Interior of plane cabin with sunlight coming in from window

The FAA is finally looking into sweltering airplane cabins

Toyota's Woven City at dusk with Mount Fuji in background

Welcome to Woven City: Toyota offers first glimpse at futuristic town

Roboticists at the Tallinn University of Technology have developed a new class of bio-inspired feet that significantly enhance robot mobility on challenging terrains like mud and wet snow.

Dog robots can trek through mud using moose-inspired hooves