ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Planets abound: Astronomers estimate that at least 100 billion planets populate the galaxy
• First meteorite linked to Martian crust
• Nanoparticles reach new peaks: Researchers show short laser pulses selectively heat gold nanoparticles
• Carbon in Vesta's craters: Asteroid impacts may have transferred carbonaceous material to protoplanet and inner solar system
• Liquid jets and bouncing balls combine for surprising results
• Power spintronics: Producing AC voltages by manipulating magnetic fields
• How computers push on the molecules they simulate
• Astrophysicists make stellar discovery about galaxies far, far away
• Spinal ultrasounds seeking why astronauts grow taller in space
• Video analysis: Detecting text every which way

Planets abound: Astronomers estimate that at least 100 billion planets populate the galaxy Posted: 03 Jan 2013 11:34 AM PST Look up at the night sky and you'll see stars, sure. But you're also seeing planets -- billions and billions of them. At least. That's the conclusion of a new study by astronomers that provides yet more evidence that planetary systems are the cosmic norm. The team made their estimate while analyzing planets orbiting a star called Kepler-32 -- planets that are representative, they say, of the vast majority in the galaxy and thus serve as a perfect case study for understanding how most planets form.

First meteorite linked to Martian crust Posted: 03 Jan 2013 11:32 AM PST After extensive analyses, researchers have identified a new class of Martian meteorite that likely originated from Mars's crust. It is also the only meteoritic sample dated to 2.1 billion years ago, the early era of the most recent geologic epoch on Mars. The meteorite contains an order of magnitude more water than any other Martian meteorite.

Nanoparticles reach new peaks: Researchers show short laser pulses selectively heat gold nanoparticles Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:11 AM PST Researchers have found a way to selectively heat diverse nanoparticles in a batch that could advance their medical and industrial use.

Carbon in Vesta's craters: Asteroid impacts may have transferred carbonaceous material to protoplanet and inner solar system Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:09 AM PST The protoplanet Vesta has been witness to an eventful past: images taken by the framing camera onboard NASA's space probe Dawn show two enormous craters in the southern hemisphere. The images were obtained during Dawn's year-long visit to Vesta that ended in September 2012. These huge impacts not only altered Vesta's shape, but also its surface composition. Scientists have shown that impacting small asteroids delivered dark, carbonaceous material to the protoplanet. In the early days of our solar system, similar events may have provided the inner planets such as Earth with carbon, an essential building block for organic molecules.

Liquid jets and bouncing balls combine for surprising results Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:08 AM PST The physics of a bouncing ball is well understood, but a liquid-filled ball can still surprise scientists.

Power spintronics: Producing AC voltages by manipulating magnetic fields Posted: 03 Jan 2013 10:08 AM PST Scientists are putting a new spin on their approach to generating electrical current by harnessing a recently identified electromotive force known as spinmotive force, which is related to the field of spintronics that addresses such challenges as improving data storage in computers. Now, a novel application of spintronics is the highly efficient and direct conversion of magnetic energy to electric voltage by using magnetic nanostructures and manipulating the dynamics of magnetization.

How computers push on the molecules they simulate Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:42 AM PST Simulations are essential to test theories and explore what's inaccessible to direct experiment. Digital computers can't use exact, continuous equations of motion and have to slice time into chunks, so persistent errors are introduced in the form of "shadow work" that distorts the result. Scientists have learned to separate the physically realistic aspects of the simulation from the artifacts of the computer method.

Astrophysicists make stellar discovery about galaxies far, far away Posted: 03 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST Astrophysicists have shed new light on how galaxies formed in the early universe. The discovery suggests that the current model for galaxy formation and evolution needs to be reassessed.

Spinal ultrasounds seeking why astronauts grow taller in space Posted: 03 Jan 2013 06:06 AM PST Did you ever wish you could be just a teensy bit taller? Well, if you spend a few months in space, you could get your wish -- temporarily. It is a commonly known fact that astronauts living aboard the International Space Station grow up to 3 percent taller while living in microgravity. They return to their normal height when back on Earth. Studying the impact of this change on the spine and advancing medical imaging technologies are the goals of the Spinal Ultrasound investigation.

Video analysis: Detecting text every which way Posted: 03 Jan 2013 04:30 AM PST Software that detects and extracts text from within video frames, making it searchable, is set to make a vast resource even more valuable.

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