HKUST Stamps Out a Cheap, Long-Lived Metal Cooling Structure

Posted on November 7, 2026November 8, 2026 by IE Contributor

Air conditioners and refrigerators quietly eat a huge share of the world's electricity, and the gases inside many of them trap heat in the atmosphere. A team at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) now reports a step toward a different kind of cooling: a solid metal that gets cold when it is squeezed, built in a way that is cheap, fast to make and tough enough to run for more than 100 million cycles. The work, published in the journal Science and described in an HKUST pres...

Artificial Foam Heart Created

Posted on October 20, 2015 by

Cornell University researchers have developed a new lightweight and stretchable material with the consistency of memory foam that has potential for use in prosthetic body parts, artificial organs and soft robotics. The foam is unique because it can be formed and has connected pores that allow fluids to be pumped through it. The foam starts as a liquid, so researchers can pour it into a 3D printed mould in order to form the heart, adding appropriate valves to the finished structure. This means...

Tough teardrop caravan offers cozy off-road comfort

Posted on October 13, 2015 by

A series of lightweight Teardrop caravans have been created by Britton Purser along with his two brothers which are tough enough to take off road. The Vintage Overland teardrops weigh about 700 lb (317.5 kg) and provides the makings for a quick and easy getaway offering shelter for even a family of four. There are three different teardrop models: the Tuco, Great Escape and T.E. Lawrence. Every caravan is made as if it were a sculpture with each one slightly different from the previous, ...

Smart Bird – the ultra-light robot bird

Posted on September 10, 2015 by

A flying robot that imitates a bird has been created. Plenty of robots can fly but none can fly like a real bird. Markus Fischer and his team at Festo built SmartBird, a large, lightweight robot, modeled on a seagull that flies by flapping its wings. This invention of a flying robot imitates a bird. It takes off, lands and flies like a real bird. The flying robot has a two-meter wingspan, and is made of a lightweight (450 gram) carbon-fiber skeleton body. It uses hybrid drive technol...