Rutgers Ankle Robot

The Rutgers Ankle Robotic Interface tackles the formidable task of rehabilitating a notoriously delicate anatomical extremity.

Illustration by Brown Bird Design.

Autumn Leaves

New Jersey is one of the Northeast’s great wonderlands of autumn color. We owe our brilliant fall leaves to geography.

Courtesy of istockphoto.com.

Office Watercooler

The watercooler is the oasis of the corporate jungle, where office denizens discuss such important topics as American Idol, the company softball team, or the latest New Jersey corruption bust.

Courtesy of Rutgers University.

Underwater Research Vehicle

Underwater research capabilities are significantly enhanced by this month's featured How Things Work item—a torpedo-shaped submersion device know as REMUS 100.

Courtesy of Six Flags Great Adventure.

Kingda Ka Roller Coaster

How did we describe life’s ups and downs before roller coasters?

Photos: Steel Pier Machine photos—Marc Steiner.

Cotton Candy Machines

The English call it fairy floss, picking up the name it was given by the two Nashvillians who invented the first electric machine for making it.

Illustration by Brown Bird Design.

Central Air Conditioning

Thanks to the second law of thermodynamics, air conditioners make hot, stuffy rooms comfortable, but technically they don’t cool the air.

AP Photo/Don Heupel.

Video Slot Machines

Mathematicians love slot machines—not to sink tokens into but rather their analytical teeth.

Photo by Al Behrman/The Star-Ledger.

Pete Carril's Princeton Offense

At this month’s annual orgy of college hoops, the NCAA Championships, you’ll see a lot of Pete Carril—or, rather, of the offensive system he devised as basketball coach at Princeton from 1967 to 1996.