Paper

​Learning about electronics from a book might seem like a step backward in a world of instructional videos and snap together kits. But Paris-based startup Papier Machine doesn't think that at all, launching the first in a series of paper books containing circuit-building projects on Kickstarter.​

​As can be imagined, finding a leak deep within the piping of someplace like a water treatment plant can be an arduous process. Thanks to new research, however, it could be about to get much easier. Scientists have created electrically-conductive paper that senses water.

Engineers from Georgia Tech and Korea University have developed a new supercapacitor that’s designed to store more energy for longer – and it’s made out of ordinary paper, meaning it’s flexible enough to power wearable electronics.

​It was six years ago that we first heard about PowerUp, a kit that added a motorized propeller to paper airplanes. Since then, remote-control functionality has been added, and a version with an onboard camera was released. Now there's the PowerUp Dart, which is designed to perform aerobatic stunts.

​Kazuya Katagiri’s award-winning Shi-An is a movable mini tea house constructed entirely out of paper using ancient Origami processes. The igloo-like structure is just one of Katagiri’s fascinating recent experiments with different techniques and materials.

One journalist set out to test the credibility of several "predatory journals" by writing a fictional research paper inspired by the science of Star Wars. Four journals fell for the joke and published the clearly absurd paper.​

A professor at MIT has completed an 18-year-long origami quest to develop a universal algorithm that could generate the paper-folding patterns required to produce any 3D structure with the smallest number of seams possible.

​At a glance, a sheet of paper may seem very uniform. Look closer, however, and you'll see that it's made up of a random jumble of tiny interwoven wood particles. Scientists have taken advantage of that fact, using each jumble as a "texture fingerprint" for authenticating individual paper items.

Scientists at Rutgers University have created paper-based plasma generators that could one day be worn on clothing or fitted to equipment to zap any bug they come into contact with, cheaply and easily.

Fly ash is generated during the manufacture of paper and cardboard, along with sludge. Most of it just ends up being dumped in landfills. That could be about to change, however, as scientists have discovered that it can also be used as a raw material in plastic goods.

Aliaksei Zholner has crafted a functioning pipe organ made from paper, which gets its air supply from a balloon attached to its side.​ When a key is pressed the valve is released and the air shoots up the tuned pipe to sound the musical note.

​With the aim of producing low-cost, portable, disposable batteries for use in remote areas, researchers at Binghamton University have developed a new design, mounted on a single sheet of paper that can be folded and stacked in different configurations to generate varying amounts of power.