It's getting windy in here

One of the biggest obstacles facing the development of new medical technologies is that doctors and engineers rarely talk to each other. Recently, physicians at King's College Hospital in London started talking to aerospace engineers at the University of Surrey, and the results have been some unlikely and unexpected transfer of technology from wind-tunnel testing systems to patient care. For example, systems designed for monitoring noise in landing gear bays can be used to detect heart problems.

What connects the International Space Station, a wind turbine, a pallet and Nelson’s Column? Like everything else around us, from books to smart phones, from tools to gizmos, from roads to cars, everything is made of materials. Whilst we may use a particular material for a particular property (e.g. something conductive for electronics), sooner or later, its mechanical performance needs to be characterised: this can make the difference between a structure that is too heavy to work or too expensive to build. So let’s crack on and take a look at “How to break things”.