Aircraft design has been based on pretty much the same conceptual mindset and engineering truisms for yonks. Is it time for a shape-shifter rethink? Tubular traditions Almost from the beginning, aircraft have consisted of a long, more-or-less tubular structure for cargo (human or otherwise), with some kind of airfoils sticking out from the sides to provide the lift needed to get the whole shebang...

Using new kinds of composite materials in industry results in complex new kinds of mixed waste – with both problems and opportunities Composite paths to engineered capabilities Carbon fibre and glass fibre-reinforced plastics have enormous advantages in many kinds of structures because of their unique combinations of lightness and exceptional strength. These are just two of a growing category of composite materials that basically...