Technology & Space

Frustrated by human error, mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage designed a machine to perform mathematical functions and automatically print the results.

Booting Up a Computer Pioneer’s 200-Year-Old Design

Charles Babbage, the grandfather of the computer, envisioned a calculating machine that was never built, until now

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Science Writers Have Fun Today

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Happy Pi Day!

In honor of Pi Day this year, I present the first 2009 digits of Pi

A vegetable garden and less bottled water can help turn the White House "green."

Energy Efficiency at the White House

How environmental change can begin at the president's home

Photovoltaic panels are ideally suited to remote locations, as in this island community in Denmark, where the infrastructure required to connect to a centralized power grid is prohibitively expensive or too destructive to the natural landscape.

Energy Saving Lessons From Around the World

The curator of an exhibit at the National Building Museum highlights case studies of community involvement in energy conservation

Tom Casten (right) is chairman and his son Sean is president and CEO of a company called Recycled Energy Development (RED) that is installing a heat-recovery system at West Virginia Alloys.

Converting Energy Waste into Electricity and Heat

Energy recycling wiz Tom Casten explains how to capture power that goes up in smoke

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Rebuilding Greensburg Green

Everyone assumed this Kansas town was destined to fade away. What would it take to reverse its course?

Dr. Edward Arnett (in the orange vest), a scientist with Bat Conservation International and his bat-finding labrador retriever accompany plant manager Chris Long at the Casselman Wind Power Project in Pennsylvania.

Can Wind Power Be Wildlife Friendly

New research aims to stop turbines from killing bats and birds

The Smithsonian Institution is taking many steps to ensure a greener future.

A Greener Smithsonian

In an Institution-wide pursuit of a greener future, researchers and engineers are furthering the cause of energy sustainability

Jocelyn Kaiser graduated from Princeton University with a degree in chemical engineering. She now writes for Science magazine and is the author of Gene Therapy in a New Light, which appears in Smithsonian's January 2009 issue.

Jocelyn Kaiser on "Gene Therapy in a New Light"

Galileo

Galileo, Reconsidered

The first biography of Galileo Galilei resurfaces and offers a new theory as to why the astronomer was put on trial

Termite digestion of wood pulp is the subject of research into potential new biofuels

Termite Bellies and Biofuels

Scientist Falk Warnecke's research into termite digestion may hold solutions to our energy crisis

The ATHLETE, one of NASA’s prototype vehicles recently tested at Moses Lake, Washington, is a six-legged robot, an all-terrain vehicle that sports wheels at the end of each limb that allow the robot to navigate as a rover.

Debating Manned Moon Missions

Experts provide opposing viewpoints on manned missions to space

Crown Koh-i-noor Diamond

Gem Gawking

Where to See Famous Diamonds

These rocks don’t lose their shape: thanks to recent advances, scientists can grow gems (from Apollo) and industrial diamonds in a matter of days.

Diamonds on Demand

Lab-grown gemstones are now practically indistinguishable from mined diamonds. Scientists and engineers see a world of possibilities

Homing In on Black Holes

To gain insight into the most mysterious objects in the universe, astronomers shine a light at the chaotic core of our Milky Way

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Into the Void

Unraveling an astronomical mystery... and a presidency

A typical 19th-century phrenology chart

Electrocybertronics

Marketing through pseudoscience

Failure to Warn?

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Turn the Page

Electronic books may soon vie with library cards for space in your pocket

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