• More Efficient Thermal Cooling Method Bioinspired by Plants

    More Efficient Thermal Cooling Method Bioinspired by Plants

    Studying evaporation: A mechanical engineer with the McKelvey School of Engineering combined properties similar to those seen in a lotus leaf (above) with those found on rose petals to find a more efficient way for droplets to evaporate from a surface. McKelvey Engineering Mechanical Engineer Creates Bioinspired Evaporation Technique When drops of water touch the surface of a lotus flower leaf, they form beads and roll off, collecting dust particles along the way. In contrast, water droplets on a rose petal also form beads, but remain pinned to the petal’s surface. A mechanical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis combined the two concepts to find a more efficient way for droplets to evaporate from a surface. Patricia Weisensee, assistant…

  • What Exactly Makes One Knot Better Than Another Has Not Been Well-Understood – Until Now

    What Exactly Makes One Knot Better Than Another Has Not Been Well-Understood – Until Now

    With the help of color-changing fibers, MIT researchers develop a mathematical model to predict a knot’s stability. Credit: Image courtesy of the researchers How Strong Is Your Knot? With help from spaghetti and color-changing fibers, a new mathematical model predicts a knot’s stability. In sailing, rock climbing, construction, and any activity requiring the securing of ropes, certain knots are known to be stronger than others. Any seasoned sailor knows, for instance, that one type of knot will secure a sheet to a headsail, while another is better for hitching a boat to a piling.  But what exactly makes one knot more stable than another has not been well-understood, until now.  MIT mathematicians and engineers have developed a mathematical model that…

  • U.S. Army’s Top 10 Science and Technology Advances of 2019 [Video]

    U.S. Army’s Top 10 Science and Technology Advances of 2019 [Video]

    This year has had its share of science and technology advances from Army researchers. The U.S. Army CCDC Army Research Laboratory, the Army’s corporate research laboratory, has the mission to discover, innovate and transition science and technology to ensure dominant strategic land power. The lab’s chief scientist, Dr. Alexander Kott, picked the coolest advances to showcase what Army scientists and engineers are doing to support the Soldier of the future with a top 10 list from 2019: Number 10: Artificial muscles made from plastic Future Army robots will be the strongest in the world, if visionary researchers have their way. Robots could be armed with artificial muscles made from plastic. Army researchers collaborated with a visiting professor from Florida A&M…

  • Ultra-Light Robotic Insect Uses Soft Artificial Muscles to Move – Survives Being Flattened by a Fly Swatter

    Ultra-Light Robotic Insect Uses Soft Artificial Muscles to Move – Survives Being Flattened by a Fly Swatter

    An untethered model that is fully wireless and autonomous, weighing less than 1 gram and carrying its battery and all electronic components on its back. Credit: EPFL Researchers at EPFL have developed an ultra-light robotic insect that uses its soft artificial muscles to move at 3 cm per second across different types of terrain. It can be folded or crushed and yet continue to move. Imagine swarms of robotic insects moving around us as they perform various tasks. It might sound like science fiction, but it’s actually more plausible than you might think. Researchers at EPFL’s School of Engineering have developed a soft robotic insect, propelled at 3 cm per second by artificial muscles. The team developed two versions of…

全部加载完成