Stories by Steven Ashley

‘Portable Oasis’ Extracts Water from Dry Desert Air

An ultraporous humidity sponge could provide 300 gallons of fresh water a day

Can Diesel Finally Come Clean?

Fuel injection through Bunsen burner–inspired tubes could cut soot emissions

Could an Industrial Prehuman Civilization Have Existed on Earth before Ours?

A provocative new paper suggests some ways to find out

Future of Substance: New Materials Promise Better Batteries, Stronger Steel

Seven next-generation materials promise to change the way the world is made

How Can We Ensure Clean Water for All? [Slide Show]

An exhibition of inventions, artwork and artifacts explores our relationship with water and how the world might cope with future scarcity of this invaluable resource

Next-Generation Flex-Fuel Cells Ready to Hit the Market

Solid oxide fuel cells that can use conventional fossil fuels as well as hydrogen are set to take a larger role in the energy game

Tiny Toilers: Precision-Controlled Microbots Show They Could Take On Industrial-Scale Jobs

Magnetically levitated microbots, some the size of a pinhead, demonstrate construction skills on the small scale

7 Radical Energy Solutions

The failure rate may be 90 percent, but if any of these exotic technologies succeeds, it could significantly improve energy security and efficiency

Sail E-way: Spacecraft Riding the Solar Wind on Electric-Field Sails Could Cruise at 180,000 Kph

A sail formed not of material, but by electric fields reaching a diameter of 40 kilometers could tap the solar wind and propel the fastest man-made object ever

Tire-Makers Try Treading Lightly on the Environment

Some new green car tires offered by major manufacturers roll easier and contain less crude oil

Ray Guns Near Crossroads to the Battlefield [Slide Show]

The Pentagon ramps up efforts to field directed-energy beam weapons for land, air and sea

What Might Cause a Gas Pedal to Become Stuck?

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has suspended sales of certain models and recalled millions of older ones as its engineers search for the elusive source of a sticky--and dangerous--accelerator problem...

Newly Uncovered Enzymes Turn Corn Plant Waste into Biofuel

Cellulose-loving fungi can cut biofuel costs by enabling existing corn ethanol plants to process cheaper, woody feedstocks such as corn stover

Slide Show: 10 Things You Should Know about Toyota's New Prius Hybrid

Ten things to look for in the new Prius hybrid sedan

Slippery Surfaces Save Energy

How new lubrication aims to save the environment

Drink Up: Taking the Salt out of Seawater

Removing the salt from briny water is becoming more affordable

Efficient Power in Any Wind

Flying a Reusable Space Plane Directly to Orbit

A tiny R&D firm toils steadily toward a ground-to-orbit vehicle that could pave the way for easier and cheaper access to space

Graphene Electronics Inches Closer to Mass Production

These carbon nanosheets are considered the future of smaller, faster and cheaper electronics

Slippery Ships That Float on Air

Air-carpet hulls could sail faster, save fuel and cut emissions