Category Physics

Researchers have developed a novel solution to help reduce impact forces – for potential applications in spacecraft, cars and beyond. Space vehicles like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 are designed to be reusable. But this means that, like Olympic gymnasts hoping for a gold medal, they have to stick their landings.

Landing is stressful on a rocket’s legs because they must handle the force from the impact with the landing pad. One way to combat this is to build legs out of materials that absorb some of the force and soften the blow.

University of Washington researchers have developed a novel solution to help reduce impact forces – for potential applications in spacecraft, cars and beyond...

Experiment produces new material that can conduct electricity perfectly. University of Chicago scientists are part of an international research team that has discovered superconductivity – the ability to conduct electricity perfectly – at the highest temperatures ever recorded.

Using advanced technology at UChicago-affiliated Argonne National Laboratory, the team studied a class of materials in which they observed superconductivity at temperatures of about minus-23 degrees Celsius (minus-9 degrees Fahrenheit) – a jump of about 50 degrees compared to the previous confirmed record.

Though the superconductivity happened under extremely high pressure, the result still represents a big step toward creating supercon...

Researchers are building animal-inspired sensors into the shells of aircraft, cars. Researchers are building ‘spidey senses’ into the shells of autonomous cars and drones so that they could detect and avoid objects better.

Better sensing capabilities would make it possible for drones to navigate in dangerous environments and for cars to prevent accidents caused by human error. Current state-of-the-art sensor technology doesn’t process data fast enough – but nature does.

And researchers wouldn’t have to create a radioactive spider to give autonomous machines superhero...

Computer scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have taught an artificial intelligence agent how to do something that usually only humans can do – take a few quick glimpses around and infer its whole environment, a skill necessary for the development o...