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Wednesday, May 16, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


A supernova cocoon breakthrough

Posted: 15 May 2012 10:17 AM PDT

Astronomers have the first X-ray evidence of a supernova shock wave breaking through a cocoon of gas surrounding the star that exploded. This discovery may help astronomers understand why some supernovas are much more powerful than others.

New 'metamaterial' practical for optical advances

Posted: 15 May 2012 07:47 AM PDT

Researchers have taken a step toward overcoming a key obstacle in commercializing "hyperbolic metamaterials," structures that could bring optical advances including ultrapowerful microscopes, computers and solar cells.

Beyond the high-speed hard drive: Topological insulators open a path to room-temperature spintronics

Posted: 15 May 2012 06:41 AM PDT

Theorists and experimenters have explored the unique properties of topological insulators, where electrons may flow on the surface without resistance, with spin orientations and directions intimately related. Recent research opens exciting prospects for practical new room-temperature spintronic devices that can exploit control of electron spin as well as charge.

Black holes turn up the heat for the Universe

Posted: 15 May 2012 06:39 AM PDT

Astrophysicists have just discovered a new heating source in cosmological structure formation. Until now, astrophysicists thought that super-massive black holes could only influence their immediate surroundings. Scientists have now discovered that diffuse gas in the universe can absorb luminous gamma-ray emission from black holes, heating it up strongly. This surprising result has important implications for the formation of structures in the universe.

Watching the 'birth' of an electron: Ionization viewed with 10 attosecond resolution

Posted: 15 May 2012 02:25 AM PDT

A strong laser beam can remove an electron from an atom – a process which takes place almost instantly. This phenomenon could now be studied with a time resolution of less than ten attoseconds (ten billionths of a billionth of a second). Scientists succeeded in watching an atom being ionized and a free electron being "born".  These measurements yield valuable information about the electrons in the atom, which up until now  hasn't been experimentally accessible, such as the time evolution of the electron's quantum phase – the beat to which the quantum waves oscillate.

Chicago police cameras more effective when clustered

Posted: 14 May 2012 09:26 AM PDT

Chicago's network of police cameras is more effective at reducing crime in high-crime areas than in low-crime areas, according to a new study.

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