ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• New craters abound: Mars camera reveals hundreds of impacts each year
• Scientists shape first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan
• Physicists let magnetic dipoles interact on the nanoscale for the first time
• Nanoscavengers could usher in next generation water purification
• Black hole powered jets plow into galaxy
• First direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly fractal observed in moiré superlattices
• Catching graphene butterflies: Dramatically changing electronic properties of world's thinnest material
• Observation of second sound in a quantum gas
• Significant improvement in performance of solar-powered hydrogen generation
• Squishy hydrogels may be the ticket for studying biological effects of nanoparticles
• Making frequency-hopping radios practical
• Cotton offers a new ecologically friendly way to clean up oil spills
• Friction in the nano-world: Physicists discover a new kind of friction
• Engineers design, test taller, high-strength concrete towers for wind turbines
• Storage power plant on the seabed
• Obtaining polymers with à la carte optical and electrical properties
• Electronics comes to paper: Paper, being light and foldable, works well for electrically conducting structures
• Orion's hidden fiery ribbon

New craters abound: Mars camera reveals hundreds of impacts each year Posted: 15 May 2013 01:50 PM PDT Taking before and after pictures of the Martian terrain, researchers have identified nearly 250 fresh impact craters on the Red Planet. The results provide scientists with a better yardstick to estimate how frequently craters are blasted on Mars, allowing them to assess recently formed features with greater accuracy.

Scientists shape first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan Posted: 15 May 2013 01:39 PM PDT Scientists have created the first global topographic map of Saturn's moon Titan, giving researchers a valuable tool for learning more about one of the most Earthlike and interesting worlds in the solar system.

Physicists let magnetic dipoles interact on the nanoscale for the first time Posted: 15 May 2013 12:15 PM PDT Physicists have found out how tiny islands of magnetic material align themselves when sorted on a regular lattice -- by measurements at BESSY II. Contrary to expectations, the north and south poles of the magnetic islands did not arrange themselves in a zigzag pattern, but in chains.

Nanoscavengers could usher in next generation water purification Posted: 15 May 2013 12:15 PM PDT A new synthetic nanoparticle could disinfect, depollute, and desalinate contaminated water and then get removed magnetically. This improves upon existing technologies through ultraresponsiveness to magnetism.

Black hole powered jets plow into galaxy Posted: 15 May 2013 12:14 PM PDT The intense gravity of a supermassive black hole can be tapped to produce immense power in the form of jets moving at millions of miles per hour.

First direct proof of Hofstadter butterfly fractal observed in moiré superlattices Posted: 15 May 2013 10:15 AM PDT Scientists have directly observed a rare quantum effect that produces a repeating butterfly-shaped energy spectrum, confirming the longstanding prediction of this quantum fractal energy structure called Hofstadter's butterfly.

Catching graphene butterflies: Dramatically changing electronic properties of world's thinnest material Posted: 15 May 2013 10:15 AM PDT A large international team of researchers has shown that when graphene placed on top of insulating boron nitride, or 'white graphene', the electronic properties of graphene change dramatically revealing a pattern resembling a butterfly. The pattern is referred to as the elusive Hofstadter butterfly that has been known in theory for many decades but never before observed in experiments.

Observation of second sound in a quantum gas Posted: 15 May 2013 10:15 AM PDT Second sound is a quantum mechanical phenomenon, which has been observed only in superfluid helium. Physicists have now proven the propagation of such a temperature wave in a quantum gas.

Significant improvement in performance of solar-powered hydrogen generation Posted: 15 May 2013 09:51 AM PDT Using a powerful combination of microanalytic techniques that simultaneously image photoelectric current and chemical reaction rates across a surface on a micrometer scale, researchers have shed new light on what may become a cost-effective way to generate hydrogen gas directly from water and sunlight.

Squishy hydrogels may be the ticket for studying biological effects of nanoparticles Posted: 15 May 2013 09:51 AM PDT A class of water-loving, jelly-like materials with uses ranges ranging from the mundane, such as superabsorbent diaper liners, to the sophisticated, such as soft contact lenses, could be tapped for a new line of serious work: testing the biological effects of nanoparticles, according to scientists.

Making frequency-hopping radios practical Posted: 15 May 2013 08:39 AM PDT New hardware could lead to wireless devices that identify and exploit unused transmission frequencies, using radio spectrum much more efficiently.

Cotton offers a new ecologically friendly way to clean up oil spills Posted: 15 May 2013 08:38 AM PDT With the Deepwater Horizon disaster emphasizing the need for better ways of cleaning up oil spills, scientists are reporting that unprocessed, raw cotton may be an ideal, ecologically friendly answer, with an amazing ability to sop up oil.

Friction in the nano-world: Physicists discover a new kind of friction Posted: 15 May 2013 08:38 AM PDT Whether in vehicle transmissions, hip replacements, or tiny sensors for triggering airbags: The respective components must slide against each other with minimum friction to prevent loss of energy and material wear. Investigating the friction behavior of nanosystems, scientists have discovered a previously unknown type of friction that sheds new light on some previously unexplainable phenomena.

Engineers design, test taller, high-strength concrete towers for wind turbines Posted: 15 May 2013 06:48 AM PDT Engineers have designed and tested a concept for concrete towers to replace the steel towers used for wind turbines. The concrete towers could be a practical way to raise turbine towers from today's 80 meters to the better winds at 100 meters or higher.

Storage power plant on the seabed Posted: 15 May 2013 05:53 AM PDT A group of scientists aims to store electricity at the bottom of the sea. The energy will be stored with the help of high water pressure.

Obtaining polymers with à la carte optical and electrical properties Posted: 15 May 2013 05:53 AM PDT Scientists have created nanostructured composite materials with specific optical and electrical properties that vary according to size. These properties allow researchers to synthesize particles of the size corresponding to the desired properties, and by adding these particles to polymers, to give the final product one specific property or another.

Electronics comes to paper: Paper, being light and foldable, works well for electrically conducting structures Posted: 15 May 2013 05:52 AM PDT Paper, being a light and foldable raw material, is a cost-efficient and simple means of generating electrically conducting structures.

Orion's hidden fiery ribbon Posted: 15 May 2013 05:52 AM PDT A dramatic new image of cosmic clouds in the constellation of Orion reveals what seems to be a fiery ribbon in the sky. This orange glow represents faint light coming from grains of cold interstellar dust, at wavelengths too long for human eyes to see.

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