Interesting Engineering

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Tesla shares rose as much as 1.9% after the report broke out. bit.ly/4t5GULa

Raytheon is targeting more than 1,000 Tomahawk missiles annually. bit.ly/4zGZnQp

Ethanol can run in existing methanol engines and use current methanol bunkering infrastructure with minimal modifications. bit.ly/4ziQhIL

The cell retained about 80% of its capacity after testing. bit.ly/4C3nomE

Powered by four 2-kilowatt motors, the unusual vehicle uses LiDAR sensors to navigate indoor spaces and avoid obstacles. bit.ly/4kdlNUS

SpaceX will supply laser hardware for the Pentagon study. bit.ly/4kO53U8

Two military Earth-observation satellites have been ordered by France from Airbus and Thales Alenia Space in a deal worth more than €1.5 billion. Called IRIS, the system will replace the three existing CSO satellites and keep France’s space-based image intelligence capability going beyond 2035. The satellites will capture extremely high resolution images around the world, day and night, in both the visible and infrared spectrum, and will deliver them faster than the current generation. Technologies developed for the system include a hyper-stable telescope with active optics, ultra-sensitive high-speed digital sensors, and AI-based image processing. Thales Alenia Space’s CEO called it the most advanced optical instrument ever built in Europe. The first satellite is planned to become operational in 2033, with both in orbit around 2035. France is one of the few European NATO members with its own sovereign constellation of high-end optical spy satellites.

Scientists are designing a novel exhaust system for levitated dipole reactors. bit.ly/4Aqmb73

A new class of “scale-rich metamaterials” has been designed by introducing controlled disorder. bit.ly/4iBQ3aH

The aircraft can launch from a vehicle without a fixed runway. bit.ly/4kOwmO9

Inspired by elephant trunks, these flexible robots can bend, grab objects and team up for complex tasks. bit.ly/4Ay29rv

Tidal turbines fitted with flexible rubber blades could generate as much electricity as today’s most advanced designs without the complex machinery they need to survive at sea. Developed by engineers at the University of Edinburgh and Michelin, the blades have a stiff steel spar inside and a rubber body whose trailing edge bends and flattens as the current strengthens, shedding excess load without hinges, bearings, or actuators. In tests of a 1.26-meter model turbine in a circular tank that recreates real tidal turbulence, the rubber blades matched the energy output of a conventional turbine with active pitch control while cutting the rapid load fluctuations that cause fatigue damage by up to 29%. Simulations of a 20-meter turbine suggest the approach could work at commercial scale and might even exceed the 20-year service life expected of current designs. The work remains at the research stage. The research is published in Nature.

Oracle says its utility programs helped reduce peak electricity demand by 1 GW across North America in 2026. bit.ly/3WGmCvw

A laser-based method for recycling end-of-life solar panels has been developed by researchers at the University of Glasgow. The metals inside panels make up just 0.05% of their weight but two-thirds of their scrap value, and they are sealed in by a tough polymer called EVA that normally requires heating to 450 to 600°C or soaking in toxic chemicals to break open. Instead, a 1064 nm fiber laser passes through the transparent EVA and heats the interface with the silicon, releasing the polymer as an intact film. The remaining powder is treated with mild chemistry to dissolve out the aluminum and then the silver, which was recovered with more than 99% selectivity in one panel type. The team estimates the process cuts recycling energy use by 84% and avoids polluting nitric acid. Glasgow-based Watt Laser is now exploring how to commercialize it with standard industrial fiber lasers. The research is published in Communications Materials.

An EV maker has blamed gaps in its logistics and inventory tracking for a weak third quarter. Lucid built 2,954 vehicles and delivered 3,806, down 7% from the year before, while still holding $1.22 billion worth of inventory at the end of September. CEO Silvio Napoli said that at times the company did not know where its cars were, which caused delivery delays of up to two weeks and led impatient buyers to cancel orders. The company says its latest shipping fixes will let sales teams sell cars it knows will be available on the day. Lucid lost $831 million last quarter on $350 million in revenue, and its primary investor, the Saudi Public Investment Fund, put in another $1.75 billion. 📷 Getty Images

AlphaGenome 2 identifies 30% of causal variants in an immune-cell benchmark, compared with 16% for its predecessor. bit.ly/4BW3Hge

Duke Energy Florida has proposed 300 megawatts (MW) of solar battery storage facilities to come online in the next two years. bit.ly/4BW3p98

Flinders researchers developed a 9V-powered coating that uses microscopic cracks to destroy bacteria, including MRSA. bit.ly/3Vh10p8

The board said it has begun a search and will consider both internal and external candidates. bit.ly/4kLxlyG

A new industrial-grade pipeline sculpts diamond nanopillars and embeds stable atomic defects. bit.ly/4iQHBmO