ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Hints of universal behavior seen in exotic three-atom states
• Compression experiments lead to shocking results
• Edible carbon dioxide sponge
• Shape memory materials ready for mass production
• Better lithium-ion batteries are on the way
• NASA to demonstrate communications via laser beam
• Amazing electrical properties in polymers discovered
• Nature shows the way: Self-healing membranes
• Nature offers key lessons on harvesting solar power, say chemists
• Bimetallic nanoantenna separates colors of light
• Particles appear to travel faster than light: OPERA experiment reports anomaly in flight time of neutrinos

Hints of universal behavior seen in exotic three-atom states Posted: 23 Sep 2011 02:03 PM PDT A novel type of inter-particle binding predicted in 1970 and observed for the first time in 2006, is forming the basis for an intriguing kind of ultracold quantum chemistry. A new experiment observing the four 3-atom cesium states reports that the states' sizes are roughly the same. This has taken theorists by complete surprise.

Compression experiments lead to shocking results Posted: 23 Sep 2011 10:01 AM PDT Using acceleration one trillion times faster than a jet fighter in a maximum turn, researchers have gained new insight into dynamic compression of aluminum at ultra-high strain rates.

Edible carbon dioxide sponge Posted: 23 Sep 2011 10:01 AM PDT A year ago chemists published a recipe for a new class of nanostructures made of sugar, salt and alcohol. Now, the same team has discovered the edible compounds can efficiently detect, capture and store carbon dioxide. The porous crystals -- known as metal-organic frameworks -- are made from all-natural ingredients and simple to prepare, giving them a huge advantage over other MOFs, which are usually prepared from materials derived from crude oil.

Shape memory materials ready for mass production Posted: 23 Sep 2011 08:34 AM PDT Materials that can remember their shape and switch from one form to another may sound like science fiction, they are actually real and already in use all around us. But the alloy used to produce shape memory materials, based on nickel and titanium is expensive. Some researchers have started looking for cheaper options.

Better lithium-ion batteries are on the way Posted: 23 Sep 2011 07:55 AM PDT Lithium-ion batteries power everything from smart phones to electric cars, but especially when it comes to lowering the cost and extending the range of all-electric vehicles, they need to store a lot more energy. The critical component for energy storage is the anode, and scientists have developed a new anode material that can absorb eight times the lithium and has far greater energy capacity than today's designs.

NASA to demonstrate communications via laser beam Posted: 23 Sep 2011 07:25 AM PDT It currently takes 90 minutes to transmit high-resolution images from Mars, but NASA would like to dramatically reduce that time to just minutes. A new optical communications system that NASA plans to demonstrate in 2016 will lead the way and even allow the streaming of high-definition video from distances beyond the moon.

Amazing electrical properties in polymers discovered Posted: 23 Sep 2011 07:25 AM PDT Crystals and ceramics pale when compared to a material researchers discovered that has 10 times their piezoelectric effect, making it suitable for perhaps hundreds of everyday uses.

Nature shows the way: Self-healing membranes Posted: 23 Sep 2011 07:22 AM PDT The plant, liana whose stabilization rings of woody cells heal spontaneously after suffering damage serves as a natural example to bionic experts of self-repairing membranes. Such membranes could find use, for example, in rubber dinghies. Researchers have borrowed this trick from nature and developed a polymer foam surface coating with a closed cell construction which not only reduces the pressure loss after the membrane is damaged but also makes the inflatable structure more resistant and giving it a longer operational life.

Nature offers key lessons on harvesting solar power, say chemists Posted: 23 Sep 2011 06:58 AM PDT Clean solutions to human energy demands are essential to our future. While sunlight is the most abundant source of energy at our disposal, we have yet to learn how to capture, transfer and store solar energy efficiently. According to a new study, the answers can be found in the complex systems at work in nature.

Bimetallic nanoantenna separates colors of light Posted: 23 Sep 2011 06:51 AM PDT Researchers have built a very simple nanoantenna that directs red and blue colors in opposite directions, even though the antenna is smaller than the wavelength of light. The findings can lead to optical nanosensors being able to detect very low concentrations of gases or biomolecules.

Particles appear to travel faster than light: OPERA experiment reports anomaly in flight time of neutrinos Posted: 23 Sep 2011 05:44 AM PDT Scientists with the OPERA experiment, which observes a neutrino beam from CERN 730 km away at Italy's INFN Gran Sasso Laboratory, are presenting surprising new results that show neutrinos traveling faster than light. The OPERA result is based on the observation of over 15,000 neutrino events measured at Gran Sasso, and appears to indicate that the neutrinos travel at a velocity 20 parts per million above the speed of light, nature's cosmic speed limit. Given the potential far-reaching consequences of such a result, independent measurements are needed before the effect can either be refuted or firmly established.

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