ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Comet collisions every six seconds explain 17-year-old stellar mystery
• NASA's Space Launch System using futuristic technology to build the next generation of rockets
• New technique to protect astronauts from space radiation
• Medical devices powered by the ear itself
• Sweet new approach discovered to help produce metal casting parts, reduce toxicity
• Nanocrystals and nickel catalyst substantially improve light-based hydrogen production
• Cool pavements, warm buildings, rising electricity bills
• Cosmic sprinklers explained: Odd pair of aging stars sculpt spectacular shape of planetary nebula
• Data storage: How magnetic recording heats up
• Nanoparticles: When less is more in predicting performance
• Semiconductor devices: Under mounting stress
• Stretchy electronics moves closer: Wearable sensing technology
• Capturing carbon with clever trapdoors
• Side-illuminated ultra-efficient solar cell designs developed
• Habitable planet: New super-Earth in six-planet system may be just right to support life

Comet collisions every six seconds explain 17-year-old stellar mystery Posted: 08 Nov 2012 03:19 PM PST Every six seconds, for many millions of years, comets have been colliding near a star visible to the naked eye, astronomers report.

NASA's Space Launch System using futuristic technology to build the next generation of rockets Posted: 08 Nov 2012 12:37 PM PST NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. is using a method called selective laser melting, or SLM, to create intricate metal parts for America's next heavy-lift rocket. Using this state-of-the-art technique will benefit the agency by saving millions in manufacturing costs.

New technique to protect astronauts from space radiation Posted: 08 Nov 2012 12:35 PM PST The complexities of traveling to and working in space present challenges to astronauts that NASA scientists and engineers have been working on since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first stepped on the moon more than 43 years ago. One of the challenges facing humans when they go outside Earth's protective atmosphere and magnetic field is space radiation. Sending astronauts farther into our solar system than ever before will require advanced instruments designed for monitoring and detecting radiation in space vehicles and habitats.

Medical devices powered by the ear itself Posted: 08 Nov 2012 12:17 PM PST For the first time, researchers power an implantable electronic device using an electrical potential -- a natural battery -- deep in the inner ear.

Sweet new approach discovered to help produce metal casting parts, reduce toxicity Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:28 AM PST Based on a new discovery, the world's multi-billion dollar foundry industry may soon develop a sweet tooth. Scientists have identified a new, non-toxic binder to use in the molds this industry depends upon. It's called sugar.

Nanocrystals and nickel catalyst substantially improve light-based hydrogen production Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:27 AM PST Hydrogen is an attractive fuel source because it can easily be converted into electric energy and gives off no greenhouse emissions. Chemists are now adding to its appeal by increasing the output and lowering the cost of current light-driven hydrogen-production systems.

Cool pavements, warm buildings, rising electricity bills Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:10 AM PST A push to replace old, heat-trapping paving materials with new, cooler materials could actually lead to higher electricity bills for surrounding buildings, engineers have found. The study sounds a note of caution at a time when both federal and state legislatures have been pushing for increased use of the new highly reflective pavement materials.

Cosmic sprinklers explained: Odd pair of aging stars sculpt spectacular shape of planetary nebula Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:09 AM PST Astronomers have discovered a pair of stars orbiting each other at the center of one of the most remarkable examples of a planetary nebula. The new result confirms a long-debated theory about what controls the spectacular and symmetric appearance of the material flung out into space.

Data storage: How magnetic recording heats up Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:08 AM PST Characterization of the thermal processes involved in heat-assisted magnetic recording paves the way for commercial devices.

Nanoparticles: When less is more in predicting performance Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:08 AM PST A computational approach that makes processor-intensive first-principle calculations more manageable is now available to predict the structure of nano-alloy catalysts.

Semiconductor devices: Under mounting stress Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:08 AM PST The recently developed ability to measure physical changes in silicon when processed into microelectronic devices could improve fabrication techniques for even smaller circuits.

Stretchy electronics moves closer: Wearable sensing technology Posted: 08 Nov 2012 11:08 AM PST Researchers in Hong Kong have developed a new technology that allows electronics to drape around our body comfortably. The researchers have engineered a new fabric that can conduct electricity, paving the way for stretchable electronics.

Capturing carbon with clever trapdoors Posted: 08 Nov 2012 07:44 AM PST Engineers have developed a novel method of collecting and storing carbon dioxide that will reduce the cost of separating and storing carbon dioxide. The quest to capture carbon dioxide is crucial to a cleaner future and once captured, carbon dioxide can be compressed and safely stored.

Side-illuminated ultra-efficient solar cell designs developed Posted: 08 Nov 2012 04:40 AM PST Researchers in Israel have developed a radically new design for a concentrator solar cell that, when irradiated from the side, generates solar conversion efficiencies that rival, and may eventually surpass, the most ultra-efficient photovoltaics.

Habitable planet: New super-Earth in six-planet system may be just right to support life Posted: 08 Nov 2012 04:39 AM PST A new super-Earth planet that may have an Earth-like climate and be just right to support life has been discovered around a nearby star by an international team of astronomers.

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