A ketchup bottle cap inspired Princeton engineers to build a shape-shifting robot that moves without a motor

A ketchup bottle cap inspired Princeton engineers to build a shape-shifting robot that moves without a motor

Kevin Liu showcases a geometry-powered robot that moves without motors or controls, PC: Aaron Nathans At Princeton Engineering, a team led by Glaucio Paulino has answered a question few people ever think to ask: what makes a ketchup bottle cap snap open and stay open rather than flopping shut? The hinge on a typical flip-top … Read more

Florida dumped millions of tyres into the ocean to build a reef. More than 50 years later, it is still cleaning them up

Florida dumped millions of tyres into the ocean to build a reef. More than 50 years later, it is still cleaning them up

In the early 1970s, state officials and the US Army Corps of Engineers approved the dumping of vast numbers of used tyres into the Atlantic Ocean off Broward County, Florida. The idea was simple: create cheap, abundant artificial reef habitat to boost fish populations for anglers. Instead, the scheme left behind what is now known … Read more