ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Cassini finds hints of activity at Saturn moon Dione
• NASA's WISE mission finds 'lost' asteroid family members
• More precision from less predictability: A new quantum trade-off
• Organic polymers show sunny potential: Groundwork laid for block copolymer solar cells
• High-efficiency zinc-air battery developed
• Weightlessness of space used to design better materials for Earth
• 'Low sodium diet' key to old age for stars: New observations challenge current stellar theories
• Cosmic glitch: Astronomers discover new phenomenon in neutron star
• NASA IRIS: Improving our view of the sun
• Discovery by physicists furthers understanding of superconductivity: Experiments show Zhang-Rice singlet state in different class of materials
• Despite safety and other concerns, nuclear power saves lives, greenhouse gas emissions, experts say
• 3-D microelectrodes? Charred micro-bunny sculpture shows promise of new material for 3-D shaping
• Flexible opals: 'Polymer opals' get color from internal structure alone
• Nanomedicines' impact on patients under the microscope
• Klein tunneling: Coupled particles cross energy wall
• Paper could be basis for inexpensive diagnostic devices
• Hybrid carbon nanotube yarn muscle

Cassini finds hints of activity at Saturn moon Dione Posted: 29 May 2013 06:51 PM PDT From a distance, most of the Saturnian moon Dione resembles a bland cueball. Thanks to close-up images of a 500-mile-long (800-kilometer-long) mountain on the moon from NASA's Cassini spacecraft, scientists have found more evidence for the idea that Dione was likely active in the past. It could still be active now.

NASA's WISE mission finds 'lost' asteroid family members Posted: 29 May 2013 06:49 PM PDT Data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to a new and improved family tree for asteroids in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers used millions of infrared snapshots from the asteroid-hunting portion of the WISE all-sky survey, called NEOWISE, to identify 28 new asteroid families. The snapshots also helped place thousands of previously hidden and uncategorized asteroids into families for the first time. The findings are a critical step in understanding the origins of asteroid families, and the collisions thought to have created these rocky clans.

More precision from less predictability: A new quantum trade-off Posted: 29 May 2013 04:10 PM PDT Researchers in Australia have demonstrated that, contrary to what the Heisenberg uncertainty relation may suggest, particle properties such as position and momentum can be measured simultaneously with high precision. But it comes at a cost.

Organic polymers show sunny potential: Groundwork laid for block copolymer solar cells Posted: 29 May 2013 12:46 PM PDT A new version of solar cells could open the door to research on a new class of solar energy devices. The photovoltaic devices are based on block copolymers, self-assembling organic materials that arrange themselves into distinct layers. They easily outperform other cells with polymer compounds as active elements.

High-efficiency zinc-air battery developed Posted: 29 May 2013 12:46 PM PDT Scientists have developed an advanced zinc-air battery with higher catalytic activity and durability than similar batteries made with costly platinum and iridium catalysts. The results could lead to the development of a low-cost alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries widely used today, according to the researchers.

Weightlessness of space used to design better materials for Earth Posted: 29 May 2013 10:35 AM PDT Scientists are using the weightlessness of space to design stronger materials here on Earth.

'Low sodium diet' key to old age for stars: New observations challenge current stellar theories Posted: 29 May 2013 10:32 AM PDT Astronomers expect that stars like the Sun will blow off much of their atmospheres into space near the ends of their lives. But new observations of a huge star cluster made using ESO's Very Large Telescope have shown -- against all expectations -- that a majority of the stars studied simply did not get to this stage in their lives at all. The international team found that the amount of sodium in the stars was a very strong predictor of how they ended their lives.

Cosmic glitch: Astronomers discover new phenomenon in neutron star Posted: 29 May 2013 10:05 AM PDT The physics behind some of the most extraordinary stellar objects in the universe just became even more puzzling. A group of astronomers has discovered a new kind of glitch in the cosmos, specifically in the rotation of a neutron star.

NASA IRIS: Improving our view of the sun Posted: 29 May 2013 10:01 AM PDT In late June 2013, NASA will launch a new set of eyes to offer the most detailed look ever of the sun's lower atmosphere, called the interface region. This region is believed to play a crucial role in powering the sun's dynamic million-degree atmosphere, the corona. The Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph or IRIS mission will provide the best resolution so far of the widest range of temperatures for of the interface region, an area that has historically been difficult to study.

Discovery by physicists furthers understanding of superconductivity: Experiments show Zhang-Rice singlet state in different class of materials Posted: 29 May 2013 09:10 AM PDT Physicists have discovered that a crucial ingredient of high-temperature superconductivity could be found in an entirely different class of materials.

Despite safety and other concerns, nuclear power saves lives, greenhouse gas emissions, experts say Posted: 29 May 2013 08:13 AM PDT Global use of nuclear power has prevented about 1.84 million air pollution-related deaths and release of 64 billion tons of greenhouse gases that would have resulted from burning coal and other fossil fuels, a new study concludes.

3-D microelectrodes? Charred micro-bunny sculpture shows promise of new material for 3-D shaping Posted: 29 May 2013 08:13 AM PDT Researchers have used state-of-the-art micro-sculpting techniques on a new type of resin that can be molded into complex, highly conductive 3-D structures (in this case the famous "Stanford bunny") with features just a few micrometers across. The team says one of the most promising applications is 3-D microelectrodes that could interface with the brain.

Flexible opals: 'Polymer opals' get color from internal structure alone Posted: 29 May 2013 07:16 AM PDT A synthetic material which mimics the brightest and most vivid colors in nature, and changes color when twisted or stretched, has been developed. It could have important applications in the security, textile and sensing industries.

Nanomedicines' impact on patients under the microscope Posted: 29 May 2013 07:15 AM PDT A pioneering imaging technique to track the effects of next-generation nanomedicines on patients has now been harnessed.

Klein tunneling: Coupled particles cross energy wall Posted: 29 May 2013 06:22 AM PDT A new model demonstrates that it is possible for two particles to cross an energy barrier together, where a single particle could not. For the first time, a new kind of so-called Klein tunneling -- representing the quantum equivalent of crossing an energy wall -- has been presented in a model of two interacting particles.

Paper could be basis for inexpensive diagnostic devices Posted: 29 May 2013 06:20 AM PDT Paper is known for its ability to absorb liquids. But by modifying the underlying network of cellulose fibers, etching off surface "fluff" and applying a thin chemical coating, researchers have created a new type of paper that repels a wide variety of liquids.

Hybrid carbon nanotube yarn muscle Posted: 29 May 2013 06:20 AM PDT Scientists have created a high capacity yarn muscle that does not require electrolytes or special packaging. It will have a big impact in the motor, biological and robot industry.

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