Automotive solenoids allow a smaller amount of current from the ignition switch to route a much larger amount of current from the battery to the starter motor.

Solenoids are all over our homes and cars, helping us perform all manner of important tasks. How do solenoids work, and where are they used on a car engine?

“Solenoid,” by the Romanian writer Mircea Cartarescu, is an endlessly strange study of existence and the longing to escape it.

As far as giving mechanical instruments electronic control goes, drums are probably the best candidate for conversion; learning to play them is challenging and loud for a human, but they’re a ...