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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

NASA Cassini spacecraft provides new view of Saturn and Earth

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 08:52 PM PST

NASA has released a natural-color image of Saturn from space, the first in which Saturn, its moons and rings, and Earth, Venus and Mars, all are visible. The new panoramic mosaic of the majestic Saturn system taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows the view as it would be seen by human eyes. Cassini's imaging team processed 141 wide-angle images to create the panorama. The image sweeps 404,880 miles (651,591 kilometers) across Saturn and its inner ring system.

Thin, active invisibility cloak demonstrated for first time

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:26 AM PST

Invisibility cloaking is no longer the stuff of science fiction: scientists have demonstrated an effective invisibility cloak that is thin, scalable and adaptive to different types and sizes of objects. Professor George Eleftheriades and PhD student Michael Selvanayagam have designed and tested a new approach to cloaking—by surrounding an object with small antennas that collectively radiate an electromagnetic field. The radiated field cancels out any waves scattering off the cloaked object. Their paper 'Experimental demonstration of active electromagnetic cloaking' appears today in the journal Physical Review X.

Taking a new look at carbon nanotubes

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:39 AM PST

Two of the biggest challenges in carbon nanotube research have been met with the development of a technique that can be used to identify the structure of an individual carbon nanotube and characterize its electronic and optical properties in a functional device.

A nano-sized sponge made of electrons

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:38 AM PST

During chemical reactions, ceria nanoparticles behave in a completely different way than previously thought: the electrons absorbed and released during the reaction are not bound to individual atoms but, like a cloud, distribute themselves over the whole nanoparticle. Scientists have found far-reaching consequences for optimizing the current and future use of these nanoparticles and for assessing the limits of their safe use.

New paradigm for solar cell construction demonstrated

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:38 AM PST

Researchers have experimentally demonstrated a new paradigm for solar cell construction which may ultimately make them less expensive, easier to manufacture and more efficient at harvesting energy from the sun.

Altering surface textures in 'counterintuitive manner' may lead to cooling efficiency gains

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:33 AM PST

Researchers across the globe are racing to find ways to improve the cooling of hot surfaces -- for technologies ranging from small electronics to nuclear power plants. Zeroing in on the physics at play underlying surface phenomena, researchers made a significant breakthrough. Although somewhat counterintuitive, they discovered that by creating sparsely packed textures on surfaces rather than densely packed ones, they were able to hold droplets in place and enable cooling.

Controlling liquid crystals: Another tool in the directed assembly toolkit

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 07:53 AM PST

Scientists have already developed a technique for controlling liquid crystals by means of physical templates and elastic energy, rather than the electromagnetic fields that manipulate them in televisions and computer monitors. They envision using this technique to direct the assembly of other materials, such as nanoparticles. Now, they have added another tool to this directed assembly toolkit.

More research needed into substitution principle and regulation of potentially hazardous chemical materials, experts urge

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 07:49 AM PST

Scientists say the substitution principle is not the "white knight" as described by a number of regulatory agencies and NGOs and proposes that chemical substitution can only work effectively on a case-by-case basis.

The secrets of a bug's flight

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:53 AM PST

Researchers have identified some of the physics that may explain how insects can so quickly recover from a midflight stall -- unlike conventional fixed wing aircraft, where stalls often lead to crash landings. The analysis, in which the researchers studied the flow around a rotating model wing, improves the understanding of how insects fly and informs the design of small flying robots built for intelligence gathering, surveillance, search-and-rescue, and other purposes.

Obtaining data from the 'brains' of cars

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:10 AM PST

For the first time, a car manufacturer has opened the way for Norwegian research scientists to log data directly from the innermost systems of cars. If this practice becomes widespread, the transport industry will have a tool enabling vital decision-making at a national level.

Scientists launch world's first evacuation software to simulate realistic human behaviour associated with lift evacuation

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 06:08 AM PST

Scientists have released the next generation of the world's most advanced evacuation and crowd simulation software, buildingEXODUS. Version 6.0 incorporates capabilities to simulate human behavior associated with the use of lifts/elevators for both evacuation and circulation.  This new capability is based on data collected from an international survey involving 468 people from 23 countries, which revealed that in the event of an emergency people are less willing to wait for a lift then previously assumed.

Overweight, obese are risks for heart disease regardless of metabolic syndrome

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 01:14 PM PST

Being overweight or obese are risk factors for myocardial infarction (heart attack) and ischemic heart disease regardless of whether individuals also have the cluster of cardiovascular risk factors known as metabolic syndrome, which includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar, according to a new study.
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