ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Evidence of jet in Milky Way's black hole
• Rediscovered Apollo data gives first measure of how fast moon dust piles up
• 3-D printing hits fast lane: Engineers cut time to 3-D-print heterogeneous objects from hours to minutes
• Scientists break a theoretical time barrier on bouncing droplets
• Secrets of Mars' birth revealed from unique meteorite
• Solar-powered battery woven into fabric overcomes hurdle for 'wearable electronics'
• Computer searches web 24/7 to analyze images and teach itself common sense
• Sixth sense in mechanical engineering: Sensor screw measures forces inside machines
• Magnetic nanoparticles could aid heat dissipation in nuclear plant cooling systems and electronics
• Selecting mathematical models with greatest predictive power: Finding Occam's razor in an era of information overload
• Specially designed nanostructured materials can increase the light-absorbing efficiency of solar cells
• Novel material stores unusually large amounts of hydrogen
• World's first known magnetic cellulose loudspeakers: Potential for magnetic cellulose comes in crisp and clear
• The Galaxy's ancient brown dwarf population revealed
• HIV virus spread, evolution studied through computer modeling
• Hashtag health

Evidence of jet in Milky Way's black hole Posted: 20 Nov 2013 04:24 PM PST Astronomers have long sought strong evidence that Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, is producing a jet of high-energy particles. Finally they have found it.

Rediscovered Apollo data gives first measure of how fast moon dust piles up Posted: 20 Nov 2013 11:38 AM PST Scientists used rediscovered Apollo data to make the first determination of how fast lunar dust accumulates. It builds up unbelievably slowly by the standards of any Earth-bound housekeeper -- just fast enough to form a layer about a millimeter (0.04 inches) thick every 1,000 years. Yet, that rate is 10 times previous estimates. It's also speedy enough to pose a serious problem for the solar cells that serve as critical power sources for space exploration missions.

3-D printing hits fast lane: Engineers cut time to 3-D-print heterogeneous objects from hours to minutes Posted: 20 Nov 2013 10:37 AM PST Three-dimensional printing has long had the potential to revolutionize manufacturing, but so far its application in the marketplace has been held back by slow fabrication, especially for heterogeneous objects. Many objects comprise more than one material, which allows for certain parts to be rigid while other parts remain flexible (e.g. tweezers; prosthetics). Scientists have now developed a 3-D printing process that fabricates such objects very time- and cost-efficiently.

Scientists break a theoretical time barrier on bouncing droplets Posted: 20 Nov 2013 10:37 AM PST Those who study hydrophobic materials -- water-shedding surfaces such as those found in nature and created in the laboratory -- are familiar with a theoretical limit on the time it takes for a water droplet to bounce away from such a surface. But researchers have now found a way to burst through that perceived barrier, reducing the contact time by at least 40 percent.

Secrets of Mars' birth revealed from unique meteorite Posted: 20 Nov 2013 10:35 AM PST As NASA prepares to launch a new Martian probe, a Florida State University scientist has uncovered what may be the first recognized example of ancient Martian crust. Using a powerful microprobe scientists dated special crystals within the meteorite -- called zircons -- at an astounding 4.4 billion years old.

Solar-powered battery woven into fabric overcomes hurdle for 'wearable electronics' Posted: 20 Nov 2013 08:20 AM PST Though some people already seem inseparable from their smartphones, even more convenient, wearable, solar-powered electronics could be on the way soon, woven into clothing fibers or incorporated into watchbands. This novel battery development could usher in a new era of "wearable electronics."

Computer searches web 24/7 to analyze images and teach itself common sense Posted: 20 Nov 2013 08:19 AM PST A computer program called the Never Ending Image Learner (NEIL) is running 24 hours a day searching the Internet for images, doing its best to understand them on its own and, as it builds a growing visual database, gathering common sense on a massive scale.

Sixth sense in mechanical engineering: Sensor screw measures forces inside machines Posted: 20 Nov 2013 08:18 AM PST An age-old engineering problem: how do you precisely measure the forces that act between two components inside a machine or, for example, on the sail of a boat without drilling holes or sticking on a sensor? Researchers have now developed a brilliantly simple solution: a screw with an integrated sensor.

Magnetic nanoparticles could aid heat dissipation in nuclear plant cooling systems and electronics Posted: 20 Nov 2013 07:36 AM PST Researchers find that particles suspended in cooling water could prevent hotspots in nuclear plant cooling systems and electronics.

Selecting mathematical models with greatest predictive power: Finding Occam's razor in an era of information overload Posted: 20 Nov 2013 07:36 AM PST How to predict actions and reactions of things invisible to human eye? Physicists now show that there may be a preferred strategy for selecting mathematical models with the greatest predictive power. Picking the best model is about sticking to the simplest line of reasoning, experts say.

Specially designed nanostructured materials can increase the light-absorbing efficiency of solar cells Posted: 20 Nov 2013 07:34 AM PST The Sun is our most promising source of clean and renewable energy. The energy that reaches Earth from the Sun in an hour is almost equivalent to that consumed by humans over a year. Solar cells can tap this massive source of energy by converting light into an electrical current. However, these devices still require significant improvements in efficiency before they can compete with more traditional energy sources. New research has increased the light-absorbing efficiency of solar cells.

Novel material stores unusually large amounts of hydrogen Posted: 20 Nov 2013 07:06 AM PST Researchers has synthesized a new material that stores an unusually large amount of hydrogen. Performing high-pressure X-ray studies, the scientists detected the formation of previously unobserved iridium hydride at a pressure of 55 gigapascals, corresponding to approximately 550,000 times the Earth's atmospheric pressure. The new material can store up to three times more hydrogen than most other metal hydrides.

World's first known magnetic cellulose loudspeakers: Potential for magnetic cellulose comes in crisp and clear Posted: 20 Nov 2013 05:13 AM PST They're flat, ultra-thin and great-sounding. The world's first known magnetic cellulose loudspeakers have been demonstrated.

The Galaxy's ancient brown dwarf population revealed Posted: 20 Nov 2013 05:11 AM PST Astronomers have discovered two of the oldest brown dwarfs in the Galaxy. These ancient objects are moving at speeds of 100-200 kilometers per second, much faster than normal stars and other brown dwarfs and are thought to have formed when the Galaxy was very young, more than 10 billion years ago.

HIV virus spread, evolution studied through computer modeling Posted: 19 Nov 2013 11:22 AM PST Researchers are investigating the complex relationships between the spread of the HIV virus in a population (epidemiology) and the actual, rapid evolution of the virus (phylogenetics) within each patient's body.

Hashtag health Posted: 19 Nov 2013 06:33 AM PST A social media–monitoring program could help physicians and health officials learn when and where severe outbreaks are occurring in real time. The researchers demonstrated that this technique might allow officials to more quickly and efficiently direct resources to outbreak zones and better contain the spread of the disease.

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