Engineering

Every bit of technology fails eventually, whether time, wear-and-tear, adverse conditions, or perhaps a mixture of all three are the cause of its demise. Yet predicting when technology might fail is notoriously difficult. When designing equipment for clear-energy systems, engineers often over compensate for this by designing it to withstand more stress than needed. This generates waste, and can sometimes inadvertently increase the wear and tear on materials. Now, an international research team has developed a way to more accurately predict how long mechanical-equipment used in green technology will last, potentially leading to more efficient design processes.

Redefining the art of matter manipulation at the nanoscale