The Department of Energy (DoE) continues its work to improve the performance and efficiency in solar cells. The latest research to this end comes out of the DoE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where researchers have developed measurement...

Back in 1995 I built an electric car based on a 1974 Honda Civic (Figure 1). It showed me some of the serious limitations of electric propulsion, as well as my own limitations as a one-man design team. It used an 8-inch Advanced D.C. motor and a...

With all the products hitting the market, 2016 is looking to be the year of virtual reality. But is VR good for anything besides playing games?

Tesla Motors' $35,000, 200-mile electric car may not revolutionize the auto industry by itself, but it could serve as a starting point for a long, steady climb to a day when half of the world's vehicles will be plug-ins.The Model 3, expected to be...

Apple's radical iPhone 6 wasn't half bad. Now, Apple claims its crammed a boatload of new technology into a phone that's imperceptibly thicker, just a few grams heavier, and several shades pinker: iPhone 6s. What does that mean, and how will it...

When 5G wireless technology debuts in 2020 or so, a whole new world of dazzling technical possibilities will open up. Downloads will be infinitely faster; batteries will last ten times longer; bandwidths will soar. And all this will happen while...

Check out Mankind's 20 Greatest Inventions — Part 1 for a look at the bottom half of the list.Mankind’s greatest inventions have one thing in common – their impact has been immense.No matter their length of existence, they’ve affected billions of...

Bring up the issue of humankind's greatest inventions and be prepared for a debate. Everyone has their favorites.To shed more light on the subject the editors at Design News weighed in on our own picks. Starting with 30 choices, ranging from ships...

As connectors get smaller, their importance is getting bigger...