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Thursday, December 15, 2011

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


How granular materials become solid: Discovery may be boon to engineers, manufacturers

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 10:58 AM PST

What is it is that makes granular materials change from a flowing loose state to a "jammed," or solid, state? Researchers can now explain how granular materials are transformed when force is applied at a particular angle, a process known as shearing.

'Supernova of a generation' shows its stuff: Astronomers determine how brightest and closest stellar explosion in 25 years happened

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 10:57 AM PST

It was the brightest and closest stellar explosion seen from Earth in 25 years, dazzling professional and backyard astronomers alike. Now, thanks to this rare discovery -- which some have called the "supernova of a generation" -- astronomers have the most detailed picture yet of how this kind of explosion happens.

Disaster looms for gas cloud falling into Milky Way's central black hole

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 10:57 AM PST

Astronomers have observed a cloud of gas several times the mass of Earth approaching the 4.3 million solar-mass black hole at the center of the Milky Way, and calculate that it will not survive the encounter. Astronomers calculate that by 2013, the cloud will be shredded and heated, emitting X-rays. The violent event provides a unique opportunity to record a black hole disruption until now only theorized.

New method for enhancing thermal conductivity could cool computer chips, lasers and other devices

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:59 AM PST

Engineers have discovered a surprising new way to increase a material's thermal conductivity that provides a new tool for managing thermal effects in computers, lasers and a number of other powered devices.

Cascade lasers become three times more powerful

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 09:58 AM PST

Cascade lasers are the newest generation of semiconductor lasers, currently only on the brink of commercialization. Scientists have developed technology to produce mid-infrared GaAs based cascade lasers with a three times stronger pulse than previous lasers. The new devices pave the way for promising industrial and medical applications.

Glow of recognition: New detectors could provide easy visual identification of toxins or pathogens

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 07:29 AM PST

Researchers have developed a new way of revealing the presence of specific chemicals -- whether toxins, disease markers, pathogens or explosives. The system visually signals the presence of a target chemical by emitting a fluorescent glow.

Twisting molecules by brute force: A top-down approach

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 07:28 AM PST

Researchers have found they can use a macroscopic brute force to impose and induce a twist in an otherwise non-chiral molecule.

New test could help track down and prosecute terrorists who use nerve gas and other agents

Posted: 14 Dec 2011 07:28 AM PST

Scientists are reporting development of a first-of-its-kind technology that could help law enforcement officials trace the residues from terrorist attacks involving nerve gas and other chemical agents back to the companies or other sources where the perpetrators obtained ingredients for the agent. The technique could eventually help track down perpetrators of chemical attacks.

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