Πέμπτη 1 Νοεμβρίου 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


Cassini Halloween treat: Titan glows in the dark

Posted: 31 Oct 2012 06:33 PM PDT

A literal shot in the dark by imaging cameras on NASA's Cassini spacecraft has yielded an image of a visible glow from Titan, emanating not just from the top of Titan's atmosphere, but also -- surprisingly -- from deep in the atmosphere through the moon's haze. A person in a balloon in Titan's haze layer wouldn't see the glow because it's too faint -- something like a millionth of a watt. Scientists were able to detect it with Cassini because the spacecraft's cameras are able to take long-exposure images.

Synthetic magnetism used to control light: Opens door to nanoscale applications that use light instead of electricity

Posted: 31 Oct 2012 12:16 PM PDT

Physics and engineering researchers have demonstrated a device that produces a synthetic magnetism to exert virtual force on photons similar to the effect of magnets on electrons. The advance could yield a new class of nanoscale applications that use light instead of electricity.

Dawn sees 'young' surface on giant asteroid Vesta

Posted: 31 Oct 2012 11:43 AM PDT

Like a Hollywood starlet constantly retouching her makeup, the giant asteroid Vesta is constantly stirring its outermost layer to present a young face. Data from NASA's Dawn mission show that a form of weathering that occurs on the moon and other airless bodies we've visited in the inner solar system does not alter Vesta's outermost layer in the same way. Carbon-rich asteroids have also been splattering dark material on Vesta's surface over a long span of the body's history.

Tabletop fault model reveals why some earthquakes result in faster shaking

Posted: 31 Oct 2012 11:18 AM PDT

A new study reveals that the more time an earthquake fault has to heal, the faster the shake it will produce when it finally ruptures. Because the rapidity and strength of the shaking are what causes damage to major structures, the new findings could help engineers better assess the vulnerabilities of buildings, bridges and roads. They also showed that a lab model of a fault can provide important information for natural faults.

New self-assembling particles offer great promise for optical materials and ceramics

Posted: 31 Oct 2012 11:17 AM PDT

Scientists have created new kinds of particles, 1/100th the diameter of a human hair, that spontaneously assemble themselves into structures resembling molecules made from atoms. These new particles come together, or "self-assemble," to form structures in patterns that were previously impossible to make and hold promise for manufacturing advanced optical materials and ceramics.

Scientists build the first all-carbon solar cell

Posted: 31 Oct 2012 09:50 AM PDT

Scientists have built the first solar cell made entirely of carbon, a promising alternative to the expensive materials used in photovoltaic devices today.

Biofuel breakthrough: Quick cook method turns algae into oil

Posted: 31 Oct 2012 09:35 AM PDT

It looks like Mother Nature was wasting her time with a multimillion-year process to produce crude oil. Engineering researchers can "pressure-cook" algae for as little as a minute and transform an unprecedented 65 percent of the green slime into biocrude.

One step closer to rollable, foldable e-Devices

Posted: 31 Oct 2012 08:16 AM PDT

New research brings industry and consumers closer to several improvements in e-Readers and tablets, including a simpler and more colorful way to make rollable and foldable devices. Some day, you may be able to fold up your iPad and put it in your pocket.

Stars ancient and modern?

Posted: 31 Oct 2012 05:15 AM PDT

A colorful new view of the globular star cluster NGC 6362 was captured by the Wide Field Imager attached to the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory in Chile. This new picture, along with a new image of the central region from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, provide the best view of this little-known cluster ever obtained. Globular clusters are mainly composed of tens of thousands of very ancient stars, but they also contain some stars that look suspiciously young.

Dark clouds, young stars, and a dash of Hollywood: New results from space telescope's explorations of stellar birthplaces

Posted: 31 Oct 2012 05:15 AM PDT

An astronomical project has examined the earliest stages of star formation in unprecedented depth: Using techniques more commonly encountered in Hollywood blockbuster computer graphics than in astronomy, the researchers produced a three-dimensional map of the molecular cloud B68, a possible future birthplace for a low-mass star. Turning their attention to much more massive molecular clouds, the researchers also managed to identify a previously unobserved class of object that is likely the earliest known precursor of the birth of massive stars.

Huge Procellarum basin on the nearside of the moon may be relic scar from ancient impact

Posted: 28 Oct 2012 01:01 PM PDT

The huge Procellarum basin on the nearside of the Moon may be a relic scar from an ancient impact event that shaped the lunar surface, reports a new study.

Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:

Δημοσίευση σχολίου