Stories by Steven Ashley

It's the battery, stupid...

Next-generation automotive safety technology could give us vehicles that are difficult to crash—and eventually may not need drivers at all

Getting a bigger chill out of polymers that respond to electric fields

Scientific American editor Steven Ashley test drives a car that may be the future of automotive transportation--if cost, technology and infrastructure problems can be resolved

New technology can integrate useful virtual information with the real world

Night-vision cameras, biometric sensors and other gadgets already give snoops access to private spaces. Coming soon: palm-size "bug-bots"

SciAm takes a look at new products, from environmentally friendly suede jackets to biodegradable toilet paper

Baby steps for making solar as cheap as coal power

Firms seek greener ethanol from wood chips and agricultural waste

Government puts the kibosh on plans for so-called FutureGen facility

Plasma antennas disappear when shut off

Novel motion-producing devices--actuators, motors, generators--based on polymers that change shape when stimulated electrically are reaching commercialization.

Zeptoliter pipettes and quantum rulers give new meaning to the word "small"

Engineers make progress toward new green fuels and energy storage devices

Nazi-era weapons lead to fuel-stingy aircraft engines

Replacing aluminum with copper in electric motors saves energy

Adaptive lenses change magnification without moving

America prepares for the next lunar missions