ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Planet ‘devoured in secret’ by its own sun
• Hubble traps galactic fireflies
• Ah, that new car smell: NASA technology protects spacecraft from outgassed molecular contaminants
• Storm surge barriers for Manhattan could worsen effects on nearby areas: Other options proposed
• Mars formed from similar building blocks to that of Earth, reveals study of Martian meteorites
• Failed explosions explain most peculiar supernovae
• Astronomers pin down origins of 'mile markers' for expansion and acceleration of universe
• Lava dots: Hollow, soft-shelled quantum dots created
• New energy technologies promise brighter future
• Hold the ice: Chemists reveal behavior of antifreeze molecules
• Super-efficient solar-energy technology: ‘Solar steam’ so effective it can make steam from icy cold water
• Astrophysicists identify a 'super-Jupiter' around massive star
• Human brain, Internet, and cosmology: Similar laws at work?
• Clues to cause of hydrogen embrittlement in metals: Findings could guide design of new embrittlement-resistant materials
• Need to filter water? Fight infection? Just open package, mix polymers
• Invisibility cloaking to shield floating objects from waves
• Sound bullets in water
• Owls' ability to fly in acoustic stealth provides clues to mitigating conventional aircraft noise
• BaBar experiment confirms time asymmetry: Time's quantum arrow has a preferred direction, new analysis shows

Planet ‘devoured in secret’ by its own sun Posted: 19 Nov 2012 06:31 PM PST A planet roughly 1.4 times the size of Jupiter is being consumed by its own star behind a shroud thanks to a magnesium veil absorbing all of certain light wavelengths, according to new observations. WASP-12 b, originally spotted in 2008, is a gas giant planet orbiting extremely close to its parent star. The distance between the star and planet is so small that the planet completes an orbit of its star in just over one Earth day. This proximity has "boiled off" a superheated gas cloud roughly three times the radius of Jupiter which feeds the star.

Hubble traps galactic fireflies Posted: 19 Nov 2012 02:42 PM PST A remote sensing instrument that will peer into the ultraviolet to offer clues to how Mars might have lost its atmosphere has arrived at Lockheed Martin for integration into NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft.

Ah, that new car smell: NASA technology protects spacecraft from outgassed molecular contaminants Posted: 19 Nov 2012 02:37 PM PST Outgassing -- the physical process that creates that oh-so-alluring new car smell -- isn't healthy for humans and, as it turns out, not particularly wholesome for sensitive satellite instruments, either. But a team of NASA engineers has created a new way to protect those instruments from its ill effects.

Storm surge barriers for Manhattan could worsen effects on nearby areas: Other options proposed Posted: 19 Nov 2012 01:35 PM PST The flooding in New York and New Jersey caused by Superstorm Sandy prompted calls from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other officials to consider building storm surge barriers to protect Lower Manhattan from future catastrophes. But, such a strategy could make things even worse for outlying areas that were hit hard by the hurricane, such as Staten Island, the New Jersey Shore and Long Island's South Shore, a City College of New York landscape architecture professor warns.

Mars formed from similar building blocks to that of Earth, reveals study of Martian meteorites Posted: 19 Nov 2012 01:35 PM PST A team of scientists studied the hydrogen in water from the Martian interior and found that Mars formed from similar building blocks to that of Earth, but that there were differences in the later evolution of the two planets. This implies that terrestrial planets, including Earth, have similar water sources.

Failed explosions explain most peculiar supernovae Posted: 19 Nov 2012 01:32 PM PST Supercomputer simulations have revealed that a type of oddly dim, exploding star is probably a class of duds—one that could nonetheless throw new light on the mysterious nature of dark energy.

Astronomers pin down origins of 'mile markers' for expansion and acceleration of universe Posted: 19 Nov 2012 01:32 PM PST A study using a unique new instrument on the world's largest optical telescope has revealed the likely origins of especially bright supernovae that astronomers use as easy-to-spot "mile markers" to measure the expansion and acceleration of the universe.

Lava dots: Hollow, soft-shelled quantum dots created Posted: 19 Nov 2012 12:13 PM PST Serendipity proved to be a key ingredient for newly created nanoparticles. The new "lava dot" particles were discovered accidentally when researchers stumbled upon a way to use molten droplets of metal salt to make hollow, coated versions of a nanotech staple called quantum dots.

New energy technologies promise brighter future Posted: 19 Nov 2012 12:13 PM PST Creative new technologies could change our sources of energy, change our use of energy, and change our lives.

Hold the ice: Chemists reveal behavior of antifreeze molecules Posted: 19 Nov 2012 12:12 PM PST Chemists have discovered a family of anti-freeze molecules that prevent ice formation when water temperatures drop below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Their findings may lead to new methods for improving food storage and industrial products.

Super-efficient solar-energy technology: ‘Solar steam’ so effective it can make steam from icy cold water Posted: 19 Nov 2012 11:06 AM PST Scientists have unveiled a revolutionary new technology that uses nanoparticles to convert solar energy directly into steam. The new "solar steam" method is so effective it can even produce steam from icy cold water. The technology's inventors said they expect it will first be used in sanitation and water-purification applications in the developing world.

Astrophysicists identify a 'super-Jupiter' around massive star Posted: 19 Nov 2012 11:06 AM PST Astrophysicists have discovered a 'super-Jupiter' around the massive star Kappa Andromedae. It represents the first new imaged exoplanet system in almost four years, has a mass about 13 times that of Jupiter and an orbit somewhat larger than Neptune's. The star around which the planet orbits has a mass 2.5 times that of the Sun, making it the highest mass star to ever host a directly observed planet.

Human brain, Internet, and cosmology: Similar laws at work? Posted: 19 Nov 2012 11:05 AM PST The structure of the universe and the laws that govern its growth may be more similar than previously thought to the structure and growth of the human brain and other complex networks, such as the Internet or a social network of trust relationships between people, according to a new article.

Clues to cause of hydrogen embrittlement in metals: Findings could guide design of new embrittlement-resistant materials Posted: 19 Nov 2012 10:23 AM PST Hydrogen can easily dissolve and migrate within metals to make these otherwise ductile materials brittle and more prone to failures. Now, researchers have shown that the physics of hydrogen embrittlement may be rooted in how hydrogen modifies material behaviors at the nanoscale. Scientists have now presented a model that can accurately predict the occurrence of hydrogen embrittlement.

Need to filter water? Fight infection? Just open package, mix polymers Posted: 19 Nov 2012 10:23 AM PST Researchers have developed what they call a one-size-fits-all polymer system that can be fabricated and then specialized to perform healing functions ranging from fighting infection to wound healing.

Invisibility cloaking to shield floating objects from waves Posted: 19 Nov 2012 07:45 AM PST A new approach to invisibility cloaking may one day be used at sea to shield floating objects – such as oil rigs and ships – from rough waves. Unlike most other cloaking techniques that rely on transformation optics, this one is based on the influence of the ocean floor's topography on the various "layers" of ocean water. At the American Physical Society's (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) meeting, being held November 18-20, 2012, in San Diego, Calif., Reza Alam, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, will describe how the variation of density in ocean water can be used to cloak floating objects against incident surface waves.

Sound bullets in water Posted: 19 Nov 2012 07:45 AM PST Sound waves are commonly used in applications ranging from ultrasound imaging to hyperthermia therapy, in which high temperatures are induced, for example, in tumors to destroy them. In 2010, researchers developed a nonlinear acoustic lens that can focus high-amplitude pressure pulses into compact "sound bullets." In that initial work, the scientists demonstrated how sound bullets form in solids. Now, they have done themselves one better, creating a device that can form and control those bullets in water.

Owls' ability to fly in acoustic stealth provides clues to mitigating conventional aircraft noise Posted: 19 Nov 2012 07:45 AM PST Owls have the uncanny ability to fly silently, relying on specialized plumage to reduce noise so they can hunt in acoustic stealth. Researchers are studying the owl's wing structure to better understand how it mitigates noise so they can apply that information to the design of conventional aircraft.

BaBar experiment confirms time asymmetry: Time's quantum arrow has a preferred direction, new analysis shows Posted: 19 Nov 2012 06:46 AM PST Digging through nearly 10 years of data from billions of BaBar particle collisions, researchers found that certain particle types change into one another much more often in one way than they do in the other, a violation of time reversal symmetry and confirmation that some subatomic processes have a preferred direction of time.

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