CNRS

Concrete is pretty useful, which is why it’s the most widely used construction material in the world. Now, engineers have made it even more useful, creating concrete that can conduct electricity and produce heat, by mixing in nanocarbon black.

Quadcopters are most stable with their four propellers arranged in a square configuration, with one prop at each corner of the square. Such a setup makes it difficult for the aircraft to fit through tight spaces, however. That's where the Quad-Morphing drone comes in.

Researchers in France have designed a low-frequency absorption system using metamaterials that is not only many hundreds of times smaller than standard systems, but is also claimed to totally absorb all incoming sound.

Night-vision security cameras could be getting a lot less costly, thanks to the discovery that their lenses can be made from silicon. Ordinarily, thermal infrared camera lenses are made from materials such as germanium and chalcogenide, which are much more expensive.

French researchers have produced highly conducive plastic fibers with a thickness of only a few nanometers.