Welcome back, my fellow engineers!

We’re back with today’s edition, and I'm genuinely hyped to be in your inbox.

We've got some seriously crazy stuff lined up that'll make you question reality, physics, and maybe even your own eyeballs.

(1) To maximize heat dissipation in a CPU heatsink, engineers design fins that are: Thin and closely spaced.

(2) In hydraulic systems, to lift heavier loads with the same input force, the output piston should be: Larger in diameter than input.

(3): When designing suspension bridges for longer spans, engineers use cables that are: Under high tension.

Congratulations to James, Fran, Troy, Fran, Tuong-Phu, Melissa, Geoffrey, and David. You guys are on fire!

ALSO, last week's mystery gift winners, check your inboxes!

This week's mystery prize is even cooler, and we're giving it to the first 25 people who reply with the right answers to our engineering challenges below.

Don't sleep on this one. Let's goooo! 👇

Pick the RIGHT answer for each scenario:

Question 1: To increase the pressure in a centrifugal pump (like in your washing machine), engineers: Increase the impeller speed OR Increase the impeller diameter?

Question 2: In a guitar string, to make a higher pitch note, the string must be: Under more tension OR Under less tension?

Question 3: When forging metal (like making a sword), heating and hammering makes it: Stronger and denser OR Weaker and more porous?

Know the answers?
Reply with your picks here.

WANT TO REACH AN AUDIENCE OF OVER 63K ENGINEERS?
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW WE CAN PARTNER TO HELP!

You know the problem with launching satellites?
They're HUGE. And bulky.
And launching big stuff into space costs a fortune.

I’m sure you’ve seen this:

Researchers at the University of Illinois seemed to have loved transformers too 😆

Tldr: satellites that could fold up tiny for launch, then physically transform themselves once in orbit.

They 3D-printed carbon fiber structures that stay flat on Earth, then when you zap them with a tiny heat pulse in space, BAM, they morph into curved satellite dishes in minutes.

Here's how it works: they print materials with built-in stress patterns or use shape-memory polymers that "remember" programmed shapes.

Launch compact, trigger the transformation in orbit.

Panels unfold, antennas extend, surfaces reconfigure, all without mechanical actuators.

Traditional deployable structures use motors and hinges that can fail. These morphing structures have NO moving parts. Lighter, more reliable, and they can create complex shapes impossible with mechanical systems.

Why this matters: fitting more capability into smaller launches means cheaper space missions. A satellite that shapeshifts can pack features you'd normally need a much bigger rocket for.

They even got inspiration from kirigami (Japanese paper art with cuts and folds). They made five different shapes: spirals, cones, saddles, and a parabolic dish, perfect for satellites.

Right now, the structures aren't stiff enough for space yet, but they can be used as molds to build the final dish on-site. Basically, flat-pack IKEA furniture... but for satellites.

Read more here

I hate blood tests tbh. I hate needles more than anything.

And I couldn’t be happier if my sweat was needed instead of blood 😂

This sticker goes on your DRINKING CUP, reads vitamin C from the sweat on your fingers when you hold it, and tells you your status in real-time.

Here's how it works: the sensor uses an enzyme called ascorbate oxidase that catalyzes the oxidation of vitamin C. This reaction transfers electrons to an electrode, creating a measurable current proportional to vitamin C concentration. The thermoelectric generator converts your hand's warmth against the cold cup into enough power to run the sensor and transmit data wirelessly.

Why this matters: vitamin C is water-soluble and doesn't stick around long-term in your body. Levels fluctuate based on diet, stress, and exercise.

Deficiency causes fatigue, poor wound healing, and weakened immunity, but most people don't know their levels because testing requires blood draws.

Athletes burn through vitamin C faster. People on restricted diets might not get enough. This gives real-time feedback just by holding your water bottle / starbucks cup. 

They've tested it and sweat readings correlated with blood plasma levels, proving fingertip sweat actually reflects your systemic vitamin C status.

I think I know what my next orange juice brand needs to get more business 😉

Read more here

Remember how everyone said graphene would change everything?

Super-strong, ultra-thin, totally gas-proof.

Essentially perfect for protecting solar panels from early deaths.

Then we spent 20 years trying to actually USE graphene AND REALISED: you can only make it in small patches, and when you try to paint it onto things, it just slides around instead of sticking.

Cool superpower, graphene. Very helpful 🙄

MIT just solved this with a polymer that does everything graphene does, except you can actually manufacture and apply it like normal paint.

THE INVISIBLE ENEMY KILLING OUR SOLAR PANELS

Perovskite solar cells are cheap, lightweight, and efficient; aka the future of solar power. But they break down way faster than traditional silicon panels, sometimes lasting just DAYS before moisture and oxygen destroy them.

Regular polymers can't protect them because polymers are basically Swiss cheese at the molecular level: their long chain molecules tangle together loosely, leaving tiny gaps that gas molecules can slip through.

The protection we need exists (graphene), but we can't scale it.

The protection we CAN scale (regular polymers) barely works. 

WHAT MAKES THIS COATING INSANE?

The MIT team created something called 2DPA-1 (two-dimensional polyaramid), and it's so gas-proof that even HELIUM can't get through it.

Instead of forming tangled chains like normal polymers, 2DPA-1 self-assembles into flat molecular sheets held together by hydrogen bonds.

Think of it like molecular LEGO plates that stack perfectly with zero gaps between them.

The building block is melamine (yes, the same stuff in your kitchen plates) which contains rings of carbon and nitrogen atoms that naturally link up in two dimensions.

This results in a polymer that's 10,000 times more gas-impermeable than any other polymer ever made, rivaling graphene's perfect crystal structure.

THE EVIDENCE IS LITERALLY STILL INFLATED

When researchers made test bubbles from this polymer back in 2021, those bubbles were STILL inflated in 2025.

The gas is just... trapped. Forever. That's not how polymers are supposed to work.

In real tests: a coating just 60 nanometers thick (about 1,000 times thinner than a human hair) extended a perovskite crystal's lifetime from days to three weeks.

Thicker coatings would last even longer.

And unlike graphene, 2DPA-1 actually sticks to surfaces thanks to those hydrogen bonds between layers. You can literally just paint it on.

EVERYTHING BECOMES IMMORTAL

The applications are kind of insane: bridges, buildings, rail lines, cars, aircraft, ships.

Basically anything exposed to weather could get coated in this stuff to prevent corrosion.

Your phone could get smaller because this material works as a resonator (the component that processes radio signals), and making resonators smaller than a micron would revolutionize how much power devices need.

Food packaging that actually keeps things fresh.

Medicine that doesn't degrade.

Solar panels that last as long as the silicon ones we use now, but cost way less to make.

The best part? This is made through normal solution-phase polymerization unlike graphene.
Translation: we can actually manufacture it at scale using existing chemical processes.

Finally, a "wonder material" that might actually wonder its way into real products 👀

Entry-Level Electrical Engineer: Textron (Lycoming), Williamsport, PA
Wiring aircraft engine brains so pistons fire reliably and pilots stay airborne.
Apply Now

Entry-Level Mechanical System Engineer: Solar Turbines (San Diego, CA)
Drawing flowcharts that turn gas turbines into well-behaved power plants.
Apply Now

WANT TO REACH AN AUDIENCE OF OVER 63K ENGINEERS?
CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW WE CAN PARTNER TO HELP!