Engineering stories whose deep dive explains thermal physics, ready to use as a starter, a reading task or a real-world example. Each one links to the GCSE and A level curriculum.
Aerospace, Defence & Marine
NASA and General Atomics propose a reactor with two independent loops, one for thrust and one for electrical power, that could cut a Mars…
Deep dive: Nuclear Thermal Propulsion and Specific Impulse
Energy & EnvironmentBreakthroughs
Endurance Energy has generated electricity from a geothermal well drilled 1,500 metres beneath the Pacific Ocean, the first offshore geothermal power system ever deployed.
Deep dive: The Organic Rankine Cycle and Subsea Power Generation
Energy & EnvironmentBreakthroughs
Mazama Energy's superhot rock geothermal wells drill three miles down to tap 400°C heat, with each well generating 15MW of round-the-clock clean power.
Deep dive: Drilling for Supercritical Heat
Space
ESA's BepiColombo has shed its transfer module after an eight-year journey, beginning the final approach to enter Mercury orbit in November 2026.
Deep dive: Surviving the Sun's Back Garden
ManufacturingBreakthroughs
A new purple radiative cooling fabric reflects 88% of sunlight and stays cooler than white cotton, challenging assumptions about colour and heat.
Deep dive: How the radiative cooling fabric actually works
Construction & Infrastructure
China's 1GW Hami molten salt solar plant combines PV and concentrated solar to generate electricity eight hours after sunset.
Automotive & Transport
JCB's Hydromax streamliner targets the hydrogen speed record at Bonneville with 1,600hp from twin hydrogen engines and driver Andy Green.
Energy & EnvironmentInnovation
Engineers at UT Austin created a water harvesting jacket that produces up to 900ml of drinking water daily from atmospheric moisture using biomass hydrogel.
Deep dive: the chemistry of atmospheric water harvesting
Space
Five states of matter exist. Most people learn about four states of matter: solid, liquid, gas, and plasma. The fifth is rarer, stranger, and…
Deep dive: Cold Atoms, Quantum Waves, and the Physics of Absolute Zero
Electronics & CommunicationsBreakthroughs
A modified Unitree G1 humanoid robot named Pemba completed a volcano climb to 6,200 metres on Ecuador's Chimborazo, testing extreme-altitude robotics.
Deep dive: Building a Robot That Survives at 6,200 Metres
Energy & EnvironmentBreakthroughs
Antares Nuclear's Mark-0 microreactor achieved nuclear criticality at Idaho National Laboratory on 4 June 2026, the first advanced reactor to do so under the…
Deep dive: How the Mark-0 Microreactor Nuclear Criticality Was Achieved
Electronics & CommunicationsBreakthroughs
Carnegie Mellon engineers used gold metamaterial patterns to boost nanoscale heat transfer fourfold, a Nature-published breakthrough for chip cooling and energy.
Deep dive: The Physics and Fabrication Behind Metamaterial Nanoscale Heat Transfer