ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Saturn is like an antiques shop, Cassini suggests; Moons and rings date back to solar system's birth
• How does innovation take hold in a community? Math modeling can provide clues
• Microscale medical sensors inserted under skin powered wirelessly by external handheld receiver
• Materials: Magnetic mystery solved
• Semiconductors: Touching moments with a radiant outcome
• Manufacturing: Plasma treatments on a roll
• Computer chips: Building upward safely
• New evidence ancient asteroid caused global firestorm on Earth
• Quantum computing? Physicists' new technique for cooling molecules may be a stepping stone to quantum computing
• Imaging methodology reveals nano details not seen before: Understanding nanoparticles at atomic scale in 3-D could improve materials
• Sun block for the 'Big Dog': Astronomers detect titanium oxide and titanium dioxide around the giant star VY Canis Majoris
• Engineers enable 'bulk' silicon to emit visible light for the first time
• How hard is it to 'de-anonymize' cellphone data?
• New type of solar structure cools buildings in full sunlight
• Magnetic fingerprints of interface defects in silicon solar cells detected
• Virtual games help the blind navigate unknown territory
• Young, hot and blue: Stars in the cluster NGC 2547
• How to build a very large star
• Mathematical butterflies provide insight into how insects fly
• Nanoparticles show promise as inexpensive, durable and effective scintillators
• Ultra-precision positioning
• Using fluctuating wind power

Saturn is like an antiques shop, Cassini suggests; Moons and rings date back to solar system's birth Posted: 27 Mar 2013 02:01 PM PDT A new analysis of data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft suggests that Saturn's moons and rings are gently worn vintage goods from around the time of our solar system's birth. Though they are tinted on the surface from recent "pollution," these bodies date back more than 4 billion years. They are from around the time that the planetary bodies in our neighborhood began to form out of the protoplanetary nebula, the cloud of material still orbiting the sun after its ignition as a star.

How does innovation take hold in a community? Math modeling can provide clues Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:35 PM PDT Mathematical models can be used to study the spread of technological innovations among individuals connected to each other by a network of peer-to-peer influences, such as in a physical community or neighborhood.

Microscale medical sensors inserted under skin powered wirelessly by external handheld receiver Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT Implantable electronic devices potentially offer a rapid and accurate way for doctors to monitor patients with particular medical conditions. Yet powering such devices remains a fundamental challenge: batteries are bulky and eventually need recharging or replacing. Scientists are now developing an alternative approach that eliminates the need for a battery. Their miniature devices are based on wireless power-transfer technology.

Materials: Magnetic mystery solved Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT Defects in metal–organic frameworks induce low-temperature ferromagnetism and could yield novel materials for industry.

Semiconductors: Touching moments with a radiant outcome Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT Microstructures made of adjoining semiconductor disks could lead to powerful nanoscale sensors.

Manufacturing: Plasma treatments on a roll Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:24 PM PDT A revolutionary atmospheric-pressure plasma boosts adhesion of polymer films for roll-to-roll solar-cell production has been developed.

Computer chips: Building upward safely Posted: 27 Mar 2013 01:23 PM PDT A computer model provides important clues for the production of tightly packed electronic components.

New evidence ancient asteroid caused global firestorm on Earth Posted: 27 Mar 2013 11:42 AM PDT A new look at conditions after a Manhattan-sized asteroid slammed into a region of Mexico in the dinosaur days indicates the event could have triggered a global firestorm that would have burned every twig, bush and tree on Earth and led to the extinction of 80 percent of all Earth's species, says a new study.

Quantum computing? Physicists' new technique for cooling molecules may be a stepping stone to quantum computing Posted: 27 Mar 2013 11:41 AM PDT At the heart of next-generation computers may be a collection of ultracold molecules held at temperatures a mere fraction of a degree above absolute zero. By combining two traditional atomic cooling technologies, physicists have pioneered a new technique for bringing normally springy molecules to a frozen standstill. Their results may be an important stepping stone towards future quantum computing.

Imaging methodology reveals nano details not seen before: Understanding nanoparticles at atomic scale in 3-D could improve materials Posted: 27 Mar 2013 11:41 AM PDT Scientists have produced 3-D images and videos of a tiny platinum nanoparticle at atomic resolution that reveal new details of defects in nanomaterials that have not been seen before.

Sun block for the 'Big Dog': Astronomers detect titanium oxide and titanium dioxide around the giant star VY Canis Majoris Posted: 27 Mar 2013 11:38 AM PDT Astronomers have successfully identified two titanium oxides in the extended atmosphere around a giant star. The object VY Canis Major is one of the largest stars in the known universe and close to the end of its life. The star ejects large quantities of material which forms a dusty nebula.

Engineers enable 'bulk' silicon to emit visible light for the first time Posted: 27 Mar 2013 10:35 AM PDT Electronic computing speeds are brushing up against limits imposed by the laws of physics. Photonic computing, where photons replace comparatively slow electrons in representing information, could surpass those limitations, but the components of such computers require semiconductors that can emit light. Now, new research has enabled "bulk" silicon to emit broad-spectrum, visible light for the first time, opening the possibility of using the element in devices that have both electronic and photonic components.

How hard is it to 'de-anonymize' cellphone data? Posted: 27 Mar 2013 10:25 AM PDT Scientists analyzed data on 1.5 million cellphone users in a small European country over a span of 15 months and found that just four points of reference, with fairly low spatial and temporal resolution, was enough to uniquely identify 95 percent of them. This means that to extract the complete location information for a single person from an "anonymized" data set of more than a million people, all you would need to do is place him or her within a couple of hundred yards of a cellphone transmitter, sometime over the course of an hour, four times in one year. A few Twitter posts would probably provide all the information you needed, if they contained specific information about the person's whereabouts.

New type of solar structure cools buildings in full sunlight Posted: 27 Mar 2013 10:25 AM PDT Scientists have designed an entirely new form of cooling panel that works even when the sun is shining. Such a panel could vastly improve the daylight cooling of buildings, cars and other structures by radiating sunlight back into the chilly vacuum of space.

Magnetic fingerprints of interface defects in silicon solar cells detected Posted: 27 Mar 2013 07:41 AM PDT Using a highly sensitive method of measurement, physicists have managed to localize defects in amorphous/crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells. Now, for the first time ever, using computer simulations, the scientists were able to determine the defects' exact locations and assign them to certain structures within the interface between the amorphous and crystalline phases.

Virtual games help the blind navigate unknown territory Posted: 27 Mar 2013 07:26 AM PDT Scientists have developed a virtual gaming environment to help blind individuals improve navigation skills and develop a cognitive spatial map of unfamiliar buildings and public locations.

Young, hot and blue: Stars in the cluster NGC 2547 Posted: 27 Mar 2013 06:27 AM PDT The Universe is an old neighborhood -- roughly 13.8 billion years old. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is also ancient -- some of its stars are more than 13 billion years old (eso0425). Nevertheless, there is still a lot of action: new objects form and others are destroyed. In a new image, you can see some of the newcomers, the young stars forming the cluster NGC 2547.

How to build a very large star Posted: 27 Mar 2013 06:23 AM PDT Stars ten times as massive as the Sun, or more, should not exist: as they grow, they tend to push away the gas they feed on, starving their own growth. Scientists have been struggling to figure out how some stars overcome this hurdle. Now, a group of researchers suggests that baby stars may grow to great mass if they happen to be born within a corral of older stars.

Mathematical butterflies provide insight into how insects fly Posted: 25 Mar 2013 09:56 AM PDT Researchers have developed sophisticated numerical simulations of a butterfly's forward flight.

Nanoparticles show promise as inexpensive, durable and effective scintillators Posted: 25 Mar 2013 09:56 AM PDT Nanoparticles can be successfully incorporated into scintillation devices capable of detecting and measuring a wide energy range of X-rays and gamma rays, new research shows.

Ultra-precision positioning Posted: 25 Mar 2013 07:15 AM PDT Ultra-precision positioning is required for the success of many scientific applications, including manufacturing semiconductors, aligning optics and manipulating cells. A novel rotary actuator provides greater torque, accuracy, and speed.

Using fluctuating wind power Posted: 25 Mar 2013 07:15 AM PDT Incorporating wind power into existing power grids is challenging because fluctuating wind speed and direction means turbines generate power inconsistently. Coupled with customers' varying power demand, many wind-farm managers end up wasting power-generation capacity and limiting the service life of turbines through active control -- including fully stopping turbines -- in order to avoid any possible damage to the power grid from spikes in supply. In a new paper, researchers propose a new strategy to optimize power-generation efficiency and so better control wind farms.

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