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Thursday, April 26, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

Electron politics: Physicists probe organization at the quantum level

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:36 AM PDT

"Quantum critical points" (QCP) in exotic electronic materials can act much like polarizing "hot button issues" in an election. On either side of the QCP, electrons fall into line and behave as traditionally expected, but the new study finds traditional physical laws break down at the critical point itself.

Liquid solar cells can be painted onto surfaces

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:04 AM PDT

Scientists have developed a potential pathway to cheap, stable solar cells made from nanocrystals so small they can exist as a liquid ink and be painted or printed onto clear surfaces.

X-rays reveal molecular arrangements for better printable electronics

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:04 AM PDT

By employing powerful X-rays that can see down to the molecular level of organic materials used in printable electronics, researchers are now able to determine why some materials perform better than others. Their findings could lead to cheaper, more efficient printable electronic devices.

Beyond stain-resistant: New fabric coating actively shrugs off gunk

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:04 AM PDT

Scientists are reporting development and successful testing of a fabric coating that would give new meaning to the phrase "stain-resistant" -- a coating that would take an active role in sloughing off grease, dirt, strong acids and other gunk. The report shows that the coating is even more water-repellent than car wax or Teflon.

First custom designed protein crystal created

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:04 AM PDT

Protein design is technique that is increasingly valuable to a variety of fields, from biochemistry to therapeutics to materials engineering. Chemists have taken this kind of design a step further; Using computational methods, they have created the first custom-designed protein crystal.

Physicists benchmark quantum simulator with hundreds of qubits

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:03 AM PDT

Physicists have built a quantum simulator that can engineer interactions among hundreds of quantum bits (qubits) -- 10 times more than previous devices. The simulator has passed a series of important benchmarking tests and scientists are poised to study problems in material science that are impossible to model on conventional computers.

Tiny 'spherules' reveal details about Earth's asteroid impacts

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:03 AM PDT

Researchers are learning details about asteroid impacts going back to the Earth's early history by using a new method for extracting precise information from tiny "spherules" embedded in layers of rock.

Splatters of molten rock signal period of intense asteroid impacts on Earth

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 11:03 AM PDT

New research reveals that the Archean era -- a formative time for early life from 3.8 billion years ago to 2.5 billion years ago -- experienced far more major asteroid impacts than had been previously thought, with a few impacts perhaps even rivaling those that produced the largest craters on the Moon.

Saturn's giant moon: How long has Titan's chemical factory been in business?

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 10:53 AM PDT

Saturn's giant moon Titan hides within a thick, smoggy atmosphere that's well-known to scientists as one of the most complex chemical environments in the solar system. It's a productive "factory" cranking out hydrocarbons that rain down on Titan's icy surface, cloaking it in soot and, with a brutally cold surface temperature of around minus 270 degrees Fahrenheit, forming lakes of liquid methane and ethane. New research attempts to estimate how long this factory has been operating.

NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveals secrets of giant asteroid Vesta

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 10:03 AM PDT

Findings from NASA's Dawn spacecraft reveal new details about the giant asteroid Vesta, including its varied surface composition, sharp temperature changes and clues to its internal structure. The findings will help scientists better understand the early solar system and processes that dominated its formation. Images from Dawn's framing camera and visible and infrared mapping spectrometer, taken 420 miles (680 kilometers) and 130 miles (210 kilometers) above the surface of the asteroid, show a variety of surface mineral and rock patterns. Coded false-color images help scientists better understand Vesta's composition and enable them to identify material that was once molten below the asteroid's surface.

Mucus from pig stomachs is effective as anti-viral agent: May be useful in cosmetics and baby formula

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 08:55 AM PDT

Scientists are reporting that the mucus lining the stomachs of pigs could be a long-sought, abundant source of "mucins" being considered for use as broad-spectrum anti-viral agents to supplement baby formula and for use in personal hygiene and other consumer products to protect against a range of viral infections.

Spectacular star cluster a wing-span away from Eagle Nebula

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 06:46 AM PDT

The star cluster NGC 6604 is shown in a new image. It is often overlooked in favor of its more prominent neighbor, the Eagle Nebula (also known as Messier 16), that lies a mere wingspan away. But the framing of this picture, which places the star cluster in a landscape of surrounding gas and dust clouds, shows what a beautiful object NGC 6604 is in its own right.

Vast structure of satellite galaxies discovered: Do the Milky Way’s companions spell trouble for dark matter?

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 06:43 AM PDT

Astronomers have discovered a vast structure of satellite galaxies and clusters of stars surrounding our Galaxy, stretching out across a million light years. The work challenges the existence of dark matter, part of the standard model for the evolution of the universe.

Laser blackout quirk important to future electronics?

Posted: 25 Apr 2012 06:43 AM PDT

Two lamps are brighter than one. This simple truism does not necessarily apply to lasers, as a team of scientists found out. When one laser is shining and next to it another laser is turned on gradually, complex interactions between the two lasers can lead to a total shutdown and no light is emitted anymore. For technologies connecting the fields of electronics and photonics, this result may be very important.

Graphene boosts efficiency of next-gen solar cells

Posted: 24 Apr 2012 05:51 PM PDT

Scientists found that incorporating graphene increased the cell's conductivity, bringing 52.4 percent more current into the circuit.

Improving on the amazing: Scientists seek new conductors for metamaterials

Posted: 24 Apr 2012 09:17 AM PDT

Scientists have designed a method to evaluate different conductors for use in metamaterial structures, which are engineered to exhibit properties not possible in natural materials.

Scientists discover bilayer structure in efficient solar material

Posted: 24 Apr 2012 09:07 AM PDT

Detailed studies of one of the best-performing organic photovoltaic materials reveal an unusual bilayer lamellar structure that may help explain the material's superior performance at converting sunlight to electricity and guide the synthesis of new materials with even better properties.

Can future actions influence past events? Experiment mimics quantum physics 'spooky action into the past'

Posted: 23 Apr 2012 10:19 AM PDT

Physicists have, for the first time, demonstrated in an experiment that the decision whether two particles were in an entangled or in a separable quantum state can be made even after these particles have been measured and may no longer exist.
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