3 Questions: David MacKay on renewable energy
Science advisor to the British government talks about Climategate, the Copenhagen conference, and emission-free energy technology
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A step toward lighter batteries
Research shows metal catalysts play important role in improving the efficiency of lithium-oxygen batteries
Charting a course toward cleaner cars
MIT team recommends strategy for reducing automotive fuel use, emissions
Pushing droplets around
MIT researchers find a way to make drops on a surface move in just one direction, with possible applications ranging from biology to electronics
A system that’s worth its salt
New approach to water desalination could lead to small, portable units that could be sent to disaster sites or remote locations.
Taming the wild phonon
‘Particles’ of heat are everywhere, and usually a nuisance, but newly designed materials could help put them to good use.
Explained: Climate sensitivity
If we double the Earth’s greenhouse gases, how much will the temperature change? That’s what this number tells you.
Unraveling silks’ secrets
A new analysis of the structure of silks explains the paradox at the heart of their super-strength, and may lead to even stronger synthetic materials.
An open, collaborative space
New Media Lab building is designed to foster collaboration, sharing, communication and experimentation.
Explained: Radiative forcing
When there’s more energy radiating down on the planet than there is radiating back out to space, something’s going to have to heat up
Action needed to save climate, create jobs
MIT Energy Conference speakers see need to boost clean-energy businesses through a price on carbon and incentives for manufacturing
Insulators made into conductors
MIT team coaxes polymers to line up, transforming them into materials that could dissipate heat.
Big power from tiny wires
New discovery shows carbon nanotubes can produce powerful waves that could be harnessed for new energy systems.
In Profile: Alex Slocum
Teaching and tinkering, and teaching how to tinker, are the driving forces for longtime MIT mechanical engineer
How to turn blueprints green
Open-source program developed at MIT allows architects and engineers to optimize a building’s energy systems early in the design process