New scientific concept for a Star Wars-like tractor beam

Physicists from ITMO University have developed a model of an optical tractor beam to capture particles based on new artificial materials. Such a beam is capable of moving particles or cells towards the radiation source. The ...

Methane-powered tractor could cut farmers' costs, emissions

Luca Remmert's dream of running a self-sustainable farm is within sight. He produces energy from corn and grain near the northern Italian city of Turin and hopes in the not too distant future to run all of his eight tractors ...

Frostbitten British explorer Fiennes returns home

British explorer Ranulph Fiennes showed off a heavily bandaged hand as he returned home Monday following his evacuation from Antarctica with severe frostbite, and vowed to help the team he left out there.

Heavy-duty hybrid trucks deliver on fuel economy

A performance evaluation of Class 8 hybrid electric tractor trailers compared with similar conventional vehicles by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) shows significant improvements ...

How to avoid jack-knifing your truck

Jack-knifing is a major cause of devastation in a road traffic accident involving articulated trucks. Researchers in Greece have now designed a device to prevent this often lethal action of such vehicles. Writing in the International ...

Photonics: Beam me up

'Tractor beams' of light that pull objects towards them are no longer science fiction. Haifeng Wang at the A*STAR Data Storage Institute and co-workers have now demonstrated how a tractor beam can in fact be realized on a ...

Robotic tractor to deliver precision planting

A robotic tractor and seeding machine with unprecedented planting accuracy will improve agricultural productivity for farmers and enable cropping on 20% more land, UNSW inventors say.

page 4 from 4