ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Astronomers find 'lost' supernova
• The future of ion traps: Technology will continue to be leader in development of quantum computing architectures
• Engineering breakthrough promises significantly more efficient solar cells
• Long predicted atomic collapse state observed in graphene
• New 3-D reconstructions show buried flood channels on Mars
• Hubble finds 'birth certificate' of oldest known star
• Improving electronics by solving nearly century-old problem
• Ketchup turns somersaults
• Bright comet in the evening sky
• Internet searches can identify drug safety issues well ahead of public alerts

Astronomers find 'lost' supernova Posted: 07 Mar 2013 01:16 PM PST Supernova explosions of massive stars are common in spiral galaxies like the Milky Way, where new stars are forming all the time. They are almost never seen in elliptical galaxies where star formation has nearly ceased. As a result, astronomers were surprised to find a young-looking supernova in an old galaxy.

The future of ion traps: Technology will continue to be leader in development of quantum computing architectures Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:57 AM PST Scientists speculate on ion trap technology as a scalable option for quantum information processing.

Engineering breakthrough promises significantly more efficient solar cells Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:57 AM PST A new technique could lead to significantly more efficient solar cells. Quantum dot photovoltaics offers the potential for low-cost, large-area solar power -- however these devices are not yet highly efficient in the infrared portion of the sun's spectrum, which is responsible for half of the sun's power that reaches Earth. The solution? Spectrally tuned, solution-processed plasmonic nanoparticles. These particles, researchers say, provide unprecedented control over light's propagation and absorption.

Long predicted atomic collapse state observed in graphene Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:53 AM PST Seventy years ago theorists predicted superlarge nuclei would exhibit a quantum-mechanical phenomenon known as "atomic collapse." Recently materials scientists calculated that highly-charged impurities in graphene should exhibit a corresponding buildup of electrons partially localized in space and energy -- a unique electronic resonance. By constructing artificial superlarge nuclei on graphene, researchers have achieved the first experimental observation of long-sought atomic collapse, with important implications for the future of graphene-based electronic devices.

New 3-D reconstructions show buried flood channels on Mars Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:52 AM PST New maps of the subsurface of Mars show for the first time buried channels below the surface of the red planet. Understanding the source and scale of the young channels present in Elysium Planitia -- an expanse of plains along the equator, and the youngest volcanic region on the planet -- is essential to comprehend recent Martian hydrologic activity and determine if such floods could have induced climate change.

Hubble finds 'birth certificate' of oldest known star Posted: 07 Mar 2013 11:51 AM PST Astronomers have taken an important step closer to finding the birth certificate of a star that's been around for a very long time. The star could be as old as 14.5 billion years (plus or minus 0.8 billion years), which at first glance would make it older than the universe's calculated age of about 13.8 billion years, an obvious dilemma.

Improving electronics by solving nearly century-old problem Posted: 07 Mar 2013 09:48 AM PST Scientists have solved an almost century-old problem that could further help downscale the size of electronic devices. The work focused on the low-frequency electronic 1/f noise, also known as pink noise and flicker noise. It is a signal or process with a power spectral density inversely proportional to the frequency. It was first discovered in vacuum tubes in 1925 and since then it has been found everywhere from fluctuations of the intensity in music recordings to human heart rates and electrical currents in materials and devices.

Ketchup turns somersaults Posted: 07 Mar 2013 09:46 AM PST Blood, paint or ketchup are complex liquids composed of several different components. For the construction of pumps, or the improvement of technical processes scientists and engineers need description models. They make the special properties of such liquids predictable. Researchers have now developed such a model.

Bright comet in the evening sky Posted: 07 Mar 2013 06:23 AM PST Skywatchers in the northern hemisphere should enjoy a rare treat in the next few weeks, as Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS enters the evening sky. Although the brightness of comets is notoriously difficult to predict, it looks as though this object may even be visible to the naked eye in the second half of March. Discovered by and named after the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii, the comet was first detected in June 2011, when it was an extremely faint object 1.2 billion km from the Sun. Looking at its path, astronomers soon realized that it could become very bright at its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) on March 10 this year.

Internet searches can identify drug safety issues well ahead of public alerts Posted: 06 Mar 2013 07:11 PM PST Internet searches on health symptoms can be used to identify drug side effects and could be used to develop a new kind of early warning system to boost drug safety, a new study indicates.

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