The term “shock absorber” is a misnomer. Contrary to the seemingly self-evident meaning of the words, shock absorbers don’t absorb shock. They dampen the oscillations of the springs.

Scientists at Tufts University have patented a shock absorber that converts compressive energy into electricity, which can then be stored in a hybrid vehicle's batteries. Called the Power ...

Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have developed a shock absorber that harnesses energy as it smooths your ride, and they say it can improve fuel efficiency by as much as 10 ...

Cars with worn-out shock absorbers illustrate what the devices are meant to do, because they tend to bounce continuously. Worn-out shocks compromise a car’s roadholding and braking.

But with the shock absorbers in place,vibrations in the Ares 1 rocket should be limited to about 0.25 Gs, orone-fourth the force of Earth?s gravity, NASA engineers said.

Actually, there’s no time limit on the life of a shock absorber; its lifespan depends on how much and what type of use it gets. If you do mostly highway driving, it’s conceivable that your ...