Scrap metal makes a better battery

Engineers at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, used bits of metal scraps and a household chemical to create the world’s first steel-brass battery that can store energy at levels comparable to lead-acid batteries.

Feather-like airplane wing skin for flying efficiency

When the Wright brothers accomplished their first powered flight more than a century ago, they controlled the motion of their Flyer 1 aircraft using wires and pulleys that bent and twisted the wood-and-canvas wings.