Spider-Man-style robotic graspers defy gravity

Specially designed vacuum suction units allow humans to climb walls. Scientists have developed a suction unit that can be used on rough surfaces, no matter how textured, and that has applications in the development of climbing ...

Why space dust emits radio waves upon crashing into a spacecraft

When spacecraft and satellites travel through space they encounter tiny, fast moving particles of space dust and debris. If the particle travels fast enough, its impact appears to create electromagnetic radiation (in the ...

Bubble dynamics reveal how to empty bottles faster

Bottle emptying is a phenomenon most of us have observed while pouring a beverage. Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee discovered how to make bottles empty faster, which has wide-ranging implications ...

Cow herd behavior is fodder for complex systems analysis

The image of grazing cows in a field has long conjured up a romantic nostalgia about a relaxed pace of rural life. With closer inspection, however, researchers have recognized that what appears to be a randomly dispersed ...

New highly efficient thermoelectronic generator

Through a process known as thermionic conversion, heat energy—such as light from the sun or heat from burned fossil fuels—can be converted into electricity with very high efficiency. Because of its promise, researchers ...

New electronic paper could make inexpensive electronic displays

Researchers from the University of Tokyo have revamped an old e-paper concept to make an inexpensive handwriting-enabled e-paper well suited to large displays like whiteboards. They describe the e-paper in the Journal of ...

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