But sometimes, his inventions took on a more playful bent. Not for nothing was the classical Arabic term for mechanics and engineering “Ilm al-Hiyal” (the “science of tricks”); in a 1551 treatise by ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

Technology tends to have a way of becoming smaller as it evolves. The ever-convenient microchip and lithium-ion battery serve in tandem as the brains of so many devices today, and their sleek and ...

On Saturday, May 13, visitors to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Southeast Portland can take a ride on an 111-year-old steam locomotive. Nowadays, most trains are electric or diesel-powered, but ...

Steam locomotives clattering along railway tracks. Paddle steamers churning down the Murray. Dreadnought battleships powered by steam engines. Many of us think the age of steam has ended. But while ...

The Milwaukee County Zoo's popular zoo train will undergo some changes this year. The train's two steam locomotive engines will leave the zoo; they've been sold to the Riverside & Great Northern ...

Sometimes, looking back at history helps us understand what is happening to us today. When the steam engine arrived in factories, it wasn’t just a technical innovation, it changed the world. Suddenly, ...