Engineering

It's been some 15 years in the making and is still under construction. What's the real story behind the Jeddah Tower's delay?

By Dave Roos

X-ray machines seem to do the impossible: They see straight through clothing, flesh and even metal, thanks to some very cool scientific principles at work. Find out how X-ray machines see straight to your bones.

By Tom Harris

A robot and a human being are made up of the same basic components. And with each passing decade, robots become more lifelike. Find out how robots operate and the marvelous things they're already doing.

By Tom Harris & Chris Pollette

CAT scans take X-ray imaging to a whole new level. Find out how a CAT scan machine uses "slices" to form a 3-D computer model of a patient's insides.

By Tom Harris

The twin towers of the World Trade Center were true originals -- their history is one of innovation, persistence and grand ideas.

By Tom Harris & Yara Simón

London without the Tube? New York without its underground scene? Atlantans gliding straight from their MARTA stops to the airport? What would life be like without our underground transportation system?

By Tracy V. Wilson

A tunnel can be simply defined as a tube hollowed through soil or stone, but actually constructing a tunnel is a challenge. Find out how tunnels are built.

By William Harris

Will we see robots with Transformers' capabilities during our lifetimes? Some existing robots have a lot in common with Transformers. Learn how.

By Tracy V. Wilson

Abandoned mine shafts may look romantic with their clapboarded entrances and rusting pickaxes, but they can be deadly. So who ensures that these dangerous sites are properly closed up? You may find the answer a little unsettling.

By Josh Clark

Steam technology powered the Industrial Revolution, transformed the global shipping industry and revolutionized modern warfare. But how do steam engines actually harness the power of steam?

By Robert Lamb & Yara Simón

Michelangelo was not only a great sculptor; he was also a master builder. He loved cities over nature and although had many architectural feats under his name, he often declared that he was not an architect. See the famous buildings of Michelangelo.

By Lauren Mitchell Ruehring

Turning saltwater into tasty, drinkable H20 at desalination plants is probably the biggest-selling point of reverse osmosis, but let's back up a minute. What's osmosis, and why — and how — is reversing it useful to us?

By Kate Kershner

What if a scan could not only help diagnose diseases of the brain, but maybe even determine what we're thinking and feeling? A noninvasive fMRI test could do just that.

By Stephanie Watson

Charles Goodyear was obsessed with this stretchy material, and we are, too. It's weatherproof, shockproof and entertaining, and it's found in more products than you can shoot a rubber band at.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

Your body is a remarkable piece of biological machinery, and your limbs are no exception. Did you ever wonder how prosthetic limbs are made and how they are controlled? And are scientists developing bionic artificial limbs?

By Isaac Perry Clements

This nonlethal weapon doesn't cause any lasting damage, but it may cause you to pray to the porcelains gods if an officer shines one in your eyes long enough to subdue you.

By Craig Freudenrich, Ph.D.

For a process that simply bonds two pieces of metal, welding affects a lot of our world and some stuff that's out of this world, like the International Space Station. What's it like to man the torch?

By Jonathan Atteberry

Whether we're trying to save a sinking city or dig a massive tunnel, our appetite for construction knows no bounds. But if designers had known the actual cost of these 10 projects, they might have gone back to the drawing board.

By Jacob Silverman & Patrick J. Kiger

Frank Lloyd Wright likely is best known for his architectural stylings and his eye for detail. But there was much more to the man: He liked fast cars, he loved women and he drew inspiration from Japanese art. How did that translate to his architecture?

By Jessika Toothman

In the news about the recent accident at a ski resort in Austria, the reporters called the cable car that carried the skiers up the mountain a "funicular railway." What is that and how does it work?

Nanotechnology is so new, no one is really sure what will come of it. Even so, predictions range from the ability to reproduce things like diamonds and food to the world being devoured by self-replicating nanorobots.

By Kevin Bonsor & Jonathan Strickland

Radio controlled toys are as popular with adults as they are with kids. Get inside an RC truck and find out how it translates radio signals into motion.

By Jeff Tyson

So, how much does a semi truck weigh? We'll explore what a semi truck weighs and how weigh stations work.

By Yara Simón

Unlike a regular SCUBA regulator which creates bubbles when the person wearing the apparatus exhales, a rebreather produces no bubbles when someone exhales. What exactly is a rebreather and how does it work?

One of my co-workers has an interesting thermometer on his desk. It is a glass tube with different-colored floating things in it. What kind of thermometer is this, and how does it work?