News Tech

A new airplane uses charged molecules, not propellers or turbines, to fly

The nearly silent aircraft weighs about as much as a Chihuahua

an illustration of the new aircraft

ION POWER  A new aircraft (illustrated) is propelled forward by streams of charged molecules moving among wires.

H. Xu et al/Nature 2018

By Laurel Hamers

This article is only available to Science News subscribers.

Subscribers, enter your e-mail address to access our archives.

Not a subscriber?

Science News is a nonprofit.

Support us by subscribing now.

More Stories from Science News on Tech

  1. Pillars of Creation false-color image
    Astronomy

    Turning space images into music makes astronomy more accessible

    By Maria Temming
  2. thermometer detecting sound waves
    Tech

    A new thermometer measures temperature with sound

    By Maria Temming
  3. nerve cells and a tiny robot
    Neuroscience

    Tiny, magnetically controlled robots coax nerve cells to grow connections

    By Laura Sanders
  4. solar Game Boy
    Tech

    A Game Boy look-alike runs on solar panels and button smashes

    By Maria Temming
  5. gerrymandering protesters
    Computing

    How next-gen computer generated maps detect partisan gerrymandering

    By Sujata Gupta
  6. robotic beetle on a leaf
    Tech

    Methanol fuel gives this tiny beetle bot the freedom to roam

    By Carmen Drahl
  7. atomic bomb explosion at Hiroshima
    Physics

    How understanding nature made the atomic bomb inevitable

    By Tom Siegfried
  8. a photo of Skylab
    Space

    50 years ago, NASA prepared to launch America’s first space station

    By Maria Temming

From the Nature Index

Paid Content