Hacker News with Generative AI: Engineering

MIT engineering students crack egg dilemma, finding sideways is stronger (news.mit.edu)
A new study reveals why eggshells are stronger on their sides, overturning a popular science belief.
Engineering, Science, Eggs, MIT
4 points by raybb 12 hours ago | 0 comments
Short History of Four Wheel Steering (arstechnica.com)
With roots in early 20th-century trucks, 4WS is not widely understood.
History, Automotive, Technology, Engineering
3 points by xrayarx 20 hours ago | 0 comments
How the US Built 5k Ships in WWII (construction-physics.com)
Among the most impressive manufacturing achievements of the US during WWII was the number of ships it produced.
History, Manufacturing, Engineering
20 points by chmaynard 2 days ago | 14 comments
Novel High Resolution 3D Printing Method for Metals and Ceramics [video] (youtube.com)
3D Printing, Materials Science, Manufacturing, Engineering, Video
7 points by grugagag 2 days ago | 1 comments
When Abandoned Mines Collapse (practical.engineering)
In December of 2024, a huge sinkhole opened up on I-80 near Wharton, New Jersey, creating massive traffic delays as crews worked to figure out what happened and get it fixed.
Infrastructure, Engineering, Accidents
187 points by impish9208 3 days ago | 50 comments
Improving Flying Drones by Mimicking Flying Squirrels (hackaday.com)
With the ability to independently adjust the thrust of each of their four motors, quadcopters are exceptionally agile compared to more traditional aircraft. But in an effort to create an even more maneuverable drone platform, a group of South Korean researchers have studied adding flying squirrel tech to quadcopters.
Robotics, Engineering, Biology, Animals
4 points by devrandoom 3 days ago | 0 comments
Elon Musk Threatened to Deport Engineers Who Exposed Flaws in Tesla Cars (techoreon.com)
At Tesla, it’s not all about innovation or the technology of its electric cars. There are also less visible stories that reveal a lot about the work environment at one of the most admired—and feared—companies in the tech sector.
Elon Musk, Tesla, Work Environment, Engineering, Automotive
23 points by Guptos 3 days ago | 0 comments
History of the Centrifuge (asimov.com)
The modern centrifuge was first designed for milkfat separation in the dairy industry. Today, it is ubiquitous in research laboratories. To whom do we owe its astonishing versatility?
Science, History, Engineering, Technology, Dairy
15 points by mailyk 4 days ago | 0 comments
ITER completes largest and most powerful pulsed magnet system (phys.org)
In a landmark achievement for fusion energy, ITER has completed all components for the world's largest, most powerful pulsed superconducting electromagnet system.
Fusion Energy, Physics, Engineering, Superconductors
7 points by rntn 4 days ago | 0 comments
Management Habits Burning Out Your Best Engineers (techleaderslaunchpad.com)
Burnout in engineering teams is rarely caused by a single event. Instead, it’s the result of persistent, often overlooked management habits that quietly erode motivation, well-being, and performance. Here are 9 habits, why they matter, what happens if you ignore them, and actionable tips to build a healthier, more sustainable engineering culture.
Management, Burnout, Engineering, Software Development, Culture
18 points by mooreds 4 days ago | 19 comments
The Whitworth Three Plates Method (2017) (ericweinhoffer.com)
A key contribution to precision machine tools was the understanding of the importance of flatness, and the development of processes that are used to make surfaces very flat.
Manufacturing, Engineering, Machine Tools
4 points by Tomte 5 days ago | 0 comments
MIT engineers advance toward a fault-tolerant quantum computer (news.mit.edu)
Quantum Computing, Engineering, MIT, Science
8 points by gmays 7 days ago | 3 comments
Show HN: Exhibit and Site on Mechanisms for Students (mechanical-library.org)
The Mechanical Library is an open-source exhibit and curriculum to introduce mechanical engineering to middle and high school student.
Education, Engineering, Open Source, STEM
28 points by sturbes 7 days ago | 6 comments
Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge: the tallest bridge will open in China (cnn.com)
China, Infrastructure, Engineering, Bridges
5 points by rbanffy 7 days ago | 0 comments
Two-phase chip cooling with manifold-capillary structures enables 10⁵ COP (sciencedirect.com)
The exploration of two-phase flow and heat transfer within confined spaces has revealed its potential to mitigate formidable heat dissipation in various applications, such as thermal management in advanced electronic devices.
Thermal Management, Engineering, Electronics, Heat Transfer
22 points by PaulHoule 7 days ago | 10 comments
Building Private Processing for AI Tools on WhatsApp (engineering.fb.com)
We are inspired by the possibilities of AI to help people be more creative, productive, and stay closely connected on WhatsApp, so we set out to build a new technology that allows our users around the world to use AI in a privacy-preserving way.
Privacy, Artificial Intelligence, WhatsApp, Social Media, Engineering
27 points by 3s 8 days ago | 18 comments
LLMs for Engineering: Teaching Models to Design High Powered Rockets (arxiv.org)
Large Language Models (LLMs) have transformed software engineering, but their application to physical engineering domains remains underexplored.
Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Aerospace Engineering
123 points by tamassimond 8 days ago | 44 comments
Legendary Bose Magic Carpet Suspension Is Finally Going Global (thedrive.com)
Over twenty years ago, a video of a Lexus LS400 seemingly defying the laws of physics shocked the world.
Automotive, Technology, Innovation, Engineering
270 points by PaulHoule 9 days ago | 180 comments
Engineers got power back in Spain and Portugal (euronews.com)
Monday's unprecedented power outage left much of the Iberian Peninsula in the dark. This is how operators got electricity flowing again on after the blackout.
Engineering, Power Outages, Spain, Portugal
8 points by andrewstetsenko 9 days ago | 1 comments
Creating the Commodore 64: The Engineers' Story (ieee.org)
In January 1981, a handful of semiconductor engineers at MOS Technology in West Chester, Pa., a subsidiary of Commodore International Ltd., began designing a graphics chip and a sound chip to sell to whoever wanted to make “the world’s best video game.”
Computer History, Engineering, Hardware, Retro Computing, Video Games
96 points by amichail 9 days ago | 7 comments
Ask HN: AI Replacing Engineers – Firsthand Stories? (ycombinator.com)
I keep reading about many companies moving to a model where they stop recruiting and replace human engineers with AI. Is anyone part of such a company that wants to share some firsthand experience? What changed significantly in your workflow? On top of the "clasic" GitHub Copilot and/or Cursor, any other tools/agents/automated workflows that are used to compensate for additional human effort? Are you 10x more efficient? Is the effort similar as before, but distributed in other areas?
Artificial Intelligence, Engineering, Work Culture, Technology, Automation
48 points by ludovicianul 10 days ago | 89 comments
Manuscript of Ismail al-Jazarī's Ingenious Mechanical Devices (ca. 17th century) (publicdomainreview.org)
The images gathered below come from an anonymous copy of Ismail al-Jazarī’s thirteenth-century treatise on the construction of machines.
History, Engineering, Public Domain, Manuscripts
100 points by YoctoYARN 10 days ago | 38 comments
Tokyo Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (japan.travel)
Explore Tokyo's depths at this underground marvel of modern engineering
Tokyo, Engineering, Japan, Tourism
17 points by kaycebasques 11 days ago | 6 comments
How a Pipe Organ Works (2020) (pipedreams.org)
…the pipe organ is a big box of whistles. Each pipe sits on top of a hollow wind chest that is filled with compressed air provided by a bellows or blower. Each ‘stop’ at the organ console represents a set of pipes (a rank) of a particular tone color, with a different pipe for every note on the keyboard. Pulling the stop activates a slider under that specific set of pipes on the windchest, making them available as a sound-source.
Music, Instruments, Engineering
83 points by dskhatri 12 days ago | 18 comments
The record-breaking tunnel being built from Denmark to Germany (bbc.com)
A record-breaking tunnel is being built under the Baltic Sea between Denmark and Germany, which will slash travel times and improve Scandinavia's links with the rest of Europe.
Infrastructure, Engineering, Europe, Germany, Denmark
21 points by bookofjoe 13 days ago | 2 comments
Robot Dexterity Still Seems Hard (construction-physics.com)
You can’t throw a rock these days without hitting someone trying to build humanoid robots.
Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Engineering
72 points by mhb 13 days ago | 42 comments
The New IBM Z17 Telum II Processor Module Cut Open Down to Silicon (servethehome.com)
A few weeks ago, we showed the new IBM z17 Mainframe, which brings AI with Telum II and Spyre. I attended the launch, but the next day, I was able to tour IBM’s Fishkill facility, where they do engineering, including failure analysis. As part of that, we got some unique looks at hardware that few get to see.
Hardware, IBM, Mainframes, AI, Engineering
8 points by rbanffy 13 days ago | 0 comments
An Engineering Leader's Behavioral Interview Template (docs.google.com)
In terms of ROI, you’ll get the most leverage in your prep by focusing on your behavioral interview prep.
Engineering, Interviews, Leadership, Career Development
5 points by mooreds 13 days ago | 0 comments
Ultra-thin cooling solution for mobile devices unlocks slimmer technology (techxplore.com)
Scientists from Nagoya University in Japan have developed an innovative cooling device—an ultra-thin loop heat pipe—that significantly improves heat control for electronic components in smartphones and tablets.
Mobile Devices, Cooling Technology, Engineering, Nanotechnology
6 points by PaulHoule 15 days ago | 1 comments
MIT engineers print synthetic "metamaterials" that are both strong and stretchy (news.mit.edu)
MIT engineers have now found a way to fabricate a metamaterial that is both strong and stretchy.
Engineering, Materials Science, MIT, Metamaterials
7 points by gnabgib 16 days ago | 0 comments