ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

---

• Electronics advance moves closer to a world beyond silicon
• New low-temperature chemical reaction explained
• New approach enhances quantum-based secure communication
• Wiring microbes to conduct and produce electricity faster
• LED light bulbs brighter and more energy efficient than ever
• New groundbreaking research may expose new aspects of the universe
• Nanostructures with potential to advance energy devices produced
• Unexpected magic by cosmic rays in cloud formation
• Blue light observations indicate water-rich atmosphere of super-Earth
• Bizarre alignment of planetary nebulae
• Measuring progress in nanotech design

Electronics advance moves closer to a world beyond silicon Posted: 04 Sep 2013 01:16 PM PDT Researchers have made a significant advance in the function of metal-insulator-metal, or MIM diodes, a technology premised on the assumption that the speed of electrons moving through silicon is simply too slow. For the extraordinary speed envisioned in some future electronics applications, these innovative diodes solve problems that would not be possible with silicon-based materials as a limiting factor.

New low-temperature chemical reaction explained Posted: 04 Sep 2013 10:03 AM PDT Unusual reaction, never fully understood, is important to fuel combustion, atmospheric chemistry and biochemistry. In all the centuries that humans have studied chemical reactions, just 36 basic types of reactions have been found. Now, a 37th type of reaction can be added to the list.

New approach enhances quantum-based secure communication Posted: 04 Sep 2013 08:48 AM PDT Scientists have overcome an "Achilles' heel" of quantum-based secure communication systems, using a new approach that works in the real world to safeguard secrets. The team's research removes a big obstacle to realizing future applications of quantum communication, including a fully functional quantum network.

Wiring microbes to conduct and produce electricity faster Posted: 04 Sep 2013 07:53 AM PDT Scientists have found evidence that altering the chemistry of an electrode surface (surface engineering) can help microbial communities to connect to the electrode to produce more electricity (electron-exchange) more rapidly compared to unmodified electrodes. Electron exchange is at the heart of all redox reactions occurring in the natural world, as well as in bioengineered systems: so called 'biolectrochemical systems'. Practical applications of these systems include current generation, wastewater treatment, and biochemical and biofuel production.

LED light bulbs brighter and more energy efficient than ever Posted: 04 Sep 2013 07:46 AM PDT LED light bulbs can be brighter and more energy efficient than ever, thanks to a new high performance LED driver. The new driver powers LED light bulbs with an innovative approach called multi-level PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation), which delivers remarkable improvements in terms of light quality and energy efficiency, when compared to pulse width modulation and linear driver approaches currently used in LED products.

New groundbreaking research may expose new aspects of the universe Posted: 04 Sep 2013 06:41 AM PDT No one knows for sure, but it is not unlikely that the universe is constructed in a completely different way than the usual theories and models of today predict. The most widely used model today cannot explain everything in the universe, and therefore there is a need to explore the parts of nature which the model cannot explain. This research field is called new physics, and it turns our understanding of the universe upside down. New research now makes the search for new physics easier.

Nanostructures with potential to advance energy devices produced Posted: 04 Sep 2013 06:40 AM PDT An engineering professor and materials scientist have been experimenting for more than two decades with the highly intricate process of dealloying materials. A new article details how the process can be used to produce nanostructures that could enable advances in battery technology and other energy sources.

Unexpected magic by cosmic rays in cloud formation Posted: 04 Sep 2013 06:35 AM PDT Physicists suggested that cosmic rays, energetic particles from space, are important in the formation of clouds. Since then, experiments have demonstrated that cosmic rays actually help small clusters of molecules to form. But the cosmic-ray/cloud hypothesis seemed to run into a problem when numerical simulations of the prevailing chemical theory pointed to a failure of growth.

Blue light observations indicate water-rich atmosphere of super-Earth Posted: 04 Sep 2013 06:32 AM PDT Astronomers and planetary scientists have observed planetary transits of super-Earth GJ 1214 b (Gilese 1214 b). The team investigated whether this planet has an atmosphere rich in water or hydrogen. The observations show that the sky of this planet does not show a strong Rayleigh scattering feature, which a cloudless hydrogen-dominated atmosphere would predict. When combined with the findings of previous observations in other colors, this new observational result implies that GJ 1214 b is likely to have a water-rich atmosphere.

Bizarre alignment of planetary nebulae Posted: 04 Sep 2013 06:32 AM PDT The final stages of life for a star like our Sun result in the star blowing its outer layers out into the surrounding space, forming objects known as planetary nebulae in a wide range of beautiful and striking shapes. One type of such nebulae, known as bipolar planetary nebulae, create ghostly hourglass or butterfly shapes around their parent stars. A new study by astronomers now shows surprising similarities between some of these nebulae: many of them line up in the sky in the same way.

Measuring progress in nanotech design Posted: 04 Sep 2013 06:24 AM PDT Engineers have developed a way to measure electron band offset in nanodevices using laser spectroscopy.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Technology News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610