Compressed Air

While battery-electric ferry boats may be more eco-friendly and require less maintenance than their diesel-burning counterparts, they're still not perfect. That's why scientists are now looking into powering small ferries using nothing but compressed air.

Rockets are expensive, so a number of kinetic launch startups are working on ways to simply yeet payloads into orbit and bring costs down. This one's very fun – a six-mile-long concrete cannon that'll squeeze launch vehicles to Mach 30 in one second.

It's a sad fact that people with severe respiratory illnesses are often confined to hospitals, where they must breathe through ventilators. A new portable device that harvests oxygen from the air, however, may someday allow them to stay at home.

A "soft exosuit" could provide a lighter, more comfortable alternative to powered rigid exoskeletons.

A new type of solar thermal field, tower and research facility is being built in Australia that requires only air and the sun, making it ideal for parts of the world that receive minimal rainfall.