ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Graphene's multi-colored butterflies
• Amplification of cosmic magnetic fields replicated
• One step closer to a breath test for lung cancer
• Level of addiction to tobacco measured by new virtual platform
• New method of wormlike motion lets gels wiggle through water
• Rush a light wave and you'll break its data, say scientists
• Novel laser system mimics sunlight to test solar cell efficiency
• Observing the random diffusion of missing atoms in graphene
• Compact, extremely small-scale incubator microscope to examine cells in time lapse
• Device for moving industrial vehicles without drivers developed
• Production technology for more efficient jet engines
• Engineering professor hopes to improve carbon-capture with patented technology
• Get ready for computers of the future

Graphene's multi-colored butterflies Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:09 PM PDT Combining black and white graphene can change the electronic properties of the one-atom thick materials, researchers have found. One of the major challenges for using graphene in electronics applications is the absence of a band gap, which basically means that graphene's electrical conductivity cannot be switched off completely. Whatever researchers tried to do with the material so far, it remained highly electrically conductive.

Amplification of cosmic magnetic fields replicated Posted: 01 Jun 2014 12:06 PM PDT Astrophysicists have established that cosmic turbulence could have amplified magnetic fields to the strengths observed in interstellar space. "Magnetic fields are ubiquitous in the universe," said one of the researchers. "We're pretty sure that the fields didn't exist at the beginning, at the Big Bang. So there's this fundamental question: how did magnetic fields arise?"

One step closer to a breath test for lung cancer Posted: 31 May 2014 12:48 PM PDT A test of organic compounds in exhaled breath can not only distinguish patients with lung cancer from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but can also define the stage of any cancer present, new research shows. The device requires blowing up a balloon, which is then attached to an extremely sensitive gold nanoparticle sensor. The particles in the sensor trap and then help to analyze volatile organic compounds in the exhaled breath.

Level of addiction to tobacco measured by new virtual platform Posted: 31 May 2014 06:07 AM PDT In Mexico, 21.7 percent of the population smokes, which is associated with 95 percent of (lung cancer cases and the development of 29 more different conditions. A citizen science project titled "Are you smoking away?" is part of the venture "Science that Breathes" that makes available a tool that leads to answer a series of questions about the perceptions that people have about smoking.

New method of wormlike motion lets gels wiggle through water Posted: 30 May 2014 01:03 PM PDT A special hydrogel substance has been developed that can be equipped to detect bacteria, carry cargo and deliver medicine. A researcher used a worm's contracting and expanding motion to provide a way for gels to swim in water. He explains, "Using a hand-held laser, we were able to selectively and quickly shrink the hydrogel (a hydrophilic polymer gel comprised mostly of water) in desired areas. By inducing a shrinking/swelling cycle down the length of a hydrogel, we were able to successfully mimic peristaltic, or earthworm-inspired, locomotion in water."

Rush a light wave and you'll break its data, say scientists Posted: 30 May 2014 09:44 AM PDT Quantum information can't break the cosmic speed limit, according to researchers. The scientists have shown how attempts to 'push' part of a light beam past the speed of light results in the loss of the quantum data the light carries. The results could clarify how noise might limit the transfer of information in quantum computers.

Novel laser system mimics sunlight to test solar cell efficiency Posted: 30 May 2014 09:44 AM PDT A laser-based instrument that generates artificial sunlight to help test solar cell properties, and find ways to boost their efficiency, has been developed by researchers. The novel system simulates sunlight well across a broad spectrum of visible to infrared light. More flexible than conventional solar simulators such as xenon arc-lamps or light-emitting diodes, the laser instrument can be focused down to a small beam spot -- with resolution approaching the theoretical limit -- and shaped to match any desired spectral profile.

Observing the random diffusion of missing atoms in graphene Posted: 30 May 2014 09:43 AM PDT Imperfections in the regular atomic arrangements in crystals determine many of the properties of a material, and their diffusion is behind many microstructural changes in solids. However, imaging non-repeating atomic arrangements is difficult in conventional materials. Now, researchers have directly imaged the diffusion of a butterfly-shaped atomic defect in graphene, the recently discovered two-dimensional wonder material, over long image sequences.

Compact, extremely small-scale incubator microscope to examine cells in time lapse Posted: 30 May 2014 06:26 AM PDT Biologists and doctors rely heavily on incubators and microscopes. Now researchers have come up with a novel solution that combines the functions of both these tools in a compact and extremely small-scale system. It is ideally suited for time-lapse examination over a number of weeks and for automatic observation of cell cultures. The incubator microscope is no bigger than a soda can and costs 30 times less than buying an incubator and a microscope separately.

Device for moving industrial vehicles without drivers developed Posted: 30 May 2014 06:26 AM PDT A low cost device that can be adapted to different types of vehicles, allowing the movement and transport of loads in complex spaces without the need for drivers, has been developed and produced for industrial use. This system is ideal for transporting materials in warehouses where it is necessary to make a continuous passage of goods between different points.

Production technology for more efficient jet engines Posted: 30 May 2014 06:24 AM PDT Aircrafts have to be more efficient – a crucial point when it comes to the design of jet engines. However, in the design of the components, the engineers also need to consider whether these can be economically produced. A new process chain provides more design freedom and allows a more efficient production as well as repair processes. Several components have been produced or repaired with the help of a new technology, researchers report.

Engineering professor hopes to improve carbon-capture with patented technology Posted: 29 May 2014 11:22 AM PDT Less than a year after patenting a process that could improve stripping greenhouse gasses from industrial emissions, a professor was recently granted another patent with a different solvent to accomplish the same goal. The newest method uses a form of liquid salt that could be swapped with chemicals currently used to scrub harmful emissions, such as carbon dioxide, or CO2, from industrial emissions.

Get ready for computers of the future Posted: 29 May 2014 11:20 AM PDT Experts expect multiple computing device-level technologies in the future, rather than one dominant architecture. About a dozen possible next-generation candidates exist, including tunnel FETs (field effect transistors, in which the output current is controlled by a variable electric field), carbon nanotubes, superconductors and fundamentally new approaches, such as quantum computing and brain-inspired computing.

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