One production technique for biofuel converts agricultural waste through pyrolysis. These systems heat biomass particles in a mixture of sand and nitrogen gas until the biomass particles release tar and syngas, a Keep reading
Tag: engineering
Fast-Switching Multi-Material 3D Printer
For 3D printers to reach their potential, they need to handle more than one material and be able to swap quickly and seamlessly between them. That’s a tall order given how different Keep reading
Energy-Efficient Deicing
Defrosting and deicing surfaces is an energy-intensive affair, with lots of heat lost to warming up system components rather than the ice itself. In a new study, researchers explore a faster and Keep reading
How to Build a Lava Moat
If you’re looking for a new and impractical way to protect your home, here’s a great option: a lava moat. Nothing says “Don’t try to knock on my door” like Keep reading
How Fire Sprinklers Work
Most of us have probably never given much thought to how a fire sprinkler works, but fortunately, the Slow Mo Guys have used their high-speed skills to answer that question Keep reading
Floccing Particles
Adding particles to a viscous fluid can create unexpected complications, thanks to the interplay of fluid and solid interactions. Here we see a dilute mixture of dark spherical particles suspended Keep reading
How Spillways Work
Human infrastructure like dams have the challenge of standing up to whatever nature can throw at them. It’s expensive, if not outright impossible, to build to every single contingency, so Keep reading
Engineering Droplets
A jet of falling liquid doesn’t remain a uniform cylinder; instead, it breaks into droplets. In this video, Bill Hammack explores why this is and what engineers have learned to Keep reading
Capillary Action and Sand Castles
Capillary action – or capillarity – is the ability of liquids to flow through narrow constrictions. It results from intermolecular forces between fluids and solids. It’s a combination of surface Keep reading
Drinking Coffee in Space
You probably don’t give much thought to the forces involved in drinking here on Earth. That’s because gravity’s effects dominate over everything else. Our cups are designed to hold a Keep reading