ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Study confirms magnetic properties of silicon nano-ribbons
• Giant impact scenario may explain the unusual moons of Saturn
• Keck observations bring weather of Uranus into sharp focus
• New class of power inverter could mean cheaper, faster hybrid vehicles
• Jupiter: Turmoil from below, battering from above
• New model reconciles the Moon's Earth-like composition with the giant impact theory of formation
• Student engineers design, build, fly 'printed' airplane
• Developing the next generation of microsensors: Microscale optical accelerometer created
• Cosmic rays could assist in healing Fukushima's nuclear scar
• Bus service for qubits: Spin-orbit qubits are right at home in electrical circuits
• Moon was created in giant smashup; Vaporization of impactor left signature in tiny excess of heavier form of zinc
• New cobalt-graphene catalyst could challenge platinum for use in fuel cells
• 'Internet of Things' will transform our everyday life, experts say

Study confirms magnetic properties of silicon nano-ribbons Posted: 17 Oct 2012 01:08 PM PDT Nano-ribbons of silicon configured so the atoms resemble chicken wire could hold the key to ultrahigh density data storage and information processing systems of the future, according to new research.

Giant impact scenario may explain the unusual moons of Saturn Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:48 PM PDT Among the oddities of the outer solar system are the middle-sized moons of Saturn, a half-dozen icy bodies dwarfed by Saturn's massive moon Titan. According to a new model for the origin of the Saturn system, these middle-sized moons were spawned during giant impacts in which several major satellites merged to form Titan.

Keck observations bring weather of Uranus into sharp focus Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:39 PM PDT In 1986, when Voyager swept past Uranus, the probe's portraits of the planet were "notoriously bland," disappointing scientists, yielding few new details of the planet and its atmosphere, and giving it a reputation as a bore of the solar system.

New class of power inverter could mean cheaper, faster hybrid vehicles Posted: 17 Oct 2012 12:39 PM PDT The discovery of a new class of power inverter could mean cheaper, faster hybrid vehicles and other green products. Scientists have invented a power inverter that employs just a single switching transistor and generates infinite-level voltages.

Jupiter: Turmoil from below, battering from above Posted: 17 Oct 2012 11:33 AM PDT Jupiter, the mythical god of sky and thunder, would certainly be pleased at all the changes afoot at his namesake planet. As the planet gets peppered continually with small space rocks, wide belts of the atmosphere are changing color, hotspots are vanishing and reappearing, and clouds are gathering over one part of Jupiter, while dissipating over another.

New model reconciles the Moon's Earth-like composition with the giant impact theory of formation Posted: 17 Oct 2012 11:17 AM PDT The giant impact believed to have formed the Earth-Moon system has long been accepted as canon. However, a major challenge to the theory has been that the Earth and Moon have identical oxygen isotope compositions, even though earlier impact models indicated they should differ substantially. A new model accounts for this similarity in composition while also yielding an appropriate mass for Earth and the Moon.

Student engineers design, build, fly 'printed' airplane Posted: 17 Oct 2012 11:13 AM PDT Two mechanical engineering students have built and flown a plastic airplane using 3-D printing technology.

Developing the next generation of microsensors: Microscale optical accelerometer created Posted: 17 Oct 2012 10:20 AM PDT Setting the stage for a new class of motional sensors, researchers have developed a new ultrasensitive, microchip-scale accelerometer that uses laser light to measure displacement. Beyond consumer electronics, such sensors could help with oil and gas exploration deep within Earth, could improve the stabilization systems of fighter jets, and could even be used in some biomedical applications where more traditional sensors cannot operate.

Cosmic rays could assist in healing Fukushima's nuclear scar Posted: 17 Oct 2012 10:20 AM PDT Researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory have devised a method to use cosmic rays to gather detailed information from inside the damaged cores of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors, which were heavily damaged in March 2011 by a tsunami that followed a great earthquake.

Bus service for qubits: Spin-orbit qubits are right at home in electrical circuits Posted: 17 Oct 2012 10:18 AM PDT Superconducting circuit technology meets semiconductor qubit technology to afford a means of moving quantum information from one place to another in future quantum computers.

Moon was created in giant smashup; Vaporization of impactor left signature in tiny excess of heavier form of zinc Posted: 17 Oct 2012 10:18 AM PDT It's a big claim, but scientists say they have discovered evidence that the Moon was born in a flaming blaze of glory when a body the size of Mars collided with the early Earth. The evidence might not seem all that impressive to a nonscientist: a tiny excess of a heavier variant of the element zinc in Moon rocks. But the enrichment probably arose because heavier zinc atoms condensed out of the roiling cloud of vaporized rock created by a catastrophic collision faster than lighter zinc atoms, and the remaining vapor escaped before it could condense.

New cobalt-graphene catalyst could challenge platinum for use in fuel cells Posted: 17 Oct 2012 09:39 AM PDT There's a new contender in the race to find an inexpensive alternative to platinum catalysts for use in hydrogen fuel cells. Chemists have developed a new material -- a graphene sheet covered by cobalt and cobalt-oxide nanoparticles -- that can catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction nearly as well as platinum does and is substantially more durable.

'Internet of Things' will transform our everyday life, experts say Posted: 17 Oct 2012 06:17 AM PDT The next ICT revolution will have a profound impact on our lives and the economy. Ubiquitous computing and the Internet of Things are experiencing remarkable growth. The effects are becoming more and more apparent wherever you look: in housing, transport, health care, and retail, as well as the security and energy industries.

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