ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Study uses neutron scattering, supercomputing to demystify forces at play in biofuel production
• Stingray movement could inspire the next generation of submarines
• Fantastic phonons: Blocking sound, channeling heat with 'unprecedented precision'
• Astronomers reveal contents of mysterious black hole jets
• Improving detection of radioactive material in nuclear waste water
• Squeeze and you shall measure: Squeezed coherent states shown to be optimal for gravitational wave
• New way to dissolve semiconductors holds promise for electronics industry
• Building a better tokamak by blowing giant plasma bubbles: How magnetic reconnection -- the force behind solar flares -- could initiate fusion in a tokamak reactor
• Better batteries through biology? Modified viruses boost battery performance
• Using airport screening technology to visualize waves in fusion plasma
• Speedy analysis of steel fiber reinforced concrete
• Solar cells utilize thermal radiation
• Young stars paint spectacular stellar landscape
• Riding an electron wave into the future of microchip fabrication
• Structure of bacterial nanowire protein hints at secrets of conduction
• Animal, human health benefits anticipated from new biomedical instrument
• Building block for exoskeleton could lead to more independence among elderly

Study uses neutron scattering, supercomputing to demystify forces at play in biofuel production Posted: 13 Nov 2013 12:25 PM PST Researchers studying more effective ways to convert woody plant matter into biofuels have identified fundamental forces that change plant structures during pretreatment processes used in the production of bioenergy.

Stingray movement could inspire the next generation of submarines Posted: 13 Nov 2013 12:25 PM PST Stingrays swim through water with such ease that researchers are studying how their movements could be used to design more agile and fuel-efficient unmanned underwater vehicles.

Fantastic phonons: Blocking sound, channeling heat with 'unprecedented precision' Posted: 13 Nov 2013 11:32 AM PST The phonon, like the photon or electron, is a physical particle that travels like waves, representing mechanical vibration. Phonons transmit everyday sound and heat. Recent progress in phononics has led to the development of new ideas and devices that are using phononic properties to control sound and heat, according to a new review.

Astronomers reveal contents of mysterious black hole jets Posted: 13 Nov 2013 10:22 AM PST An international team of astronomers has answered a long-standing question about the enigmatic jets emitted by black holes. Jets are narrow beams of matter spat out at high speed from near a central object, like a black hole. Although they have been observed for decades, astronomers are still not sure what they are made of, or what powers them.

Improving detection of radioactive material in nuclear waste water Posted: 13 Nov 2013 10:01 AM PST As the Fukushima crisis continues to remind the world of the potential dangers of nuclear disposal and unforeseen accidents, scientists are reporting progress toward a new way to detect the radioactive materials uranium and plutonium in waste water.

Squeeze and you shall measure: Squeezed coherent states shown to be optimal for gravitational wave Posted: 13 Nov 2013 10:00 AM PST Extremely precise measurements of distances are key in all techniques used to detect gravitational waves. To increase this precision, physicists have started using quantum effects linked with photons. Physicists now show that it is not necessary to use quantum light states more refined than the squeezed coherent states available currently.

New way to dissolve semiconductors holds promise for electronics industry Posted: 13 Nov 2013 09:58 AM PST Semiconductors, the foundation of modern electronics used in flat-screen TVs and fighter jets, could become even more versatile as researchers make headway on a novel, inexpensive way to turn them into thin films. The new report is on a new liquid that can quickly dissolve nine types of key semiconductors.

Building a better tokamak by blowing giant plasma bubbles: How magnetic reconnection -- the force behind solar flares -- could initiate fusion in a tokamak reactor Posted: 13 Nov 2013 09:58 AM PST New simulations shed light on the mechanisms at work in magnetic bubbles inside tokomak fusion machines, clarifying what happens at various stages in the ultrafast phenomenon.

Better batteries through biology? Modified viruses boost battery performance Posted: 13 Nov 2013 09:58 AM PST Researchers find a way to boost lithium-air battery performance, with the help of modified viruses.

Using airport screening technology to visualize waves in fusion plasma Posted: 13 Nov 2013 06:25 AM PST A new, quasi-optical radar technique images millimeter-wave radiation reflected from fusion plasmas in 2D, time-resolved images. This novel application lets researchers image waves in fusion plasmas in startling detail, and provides vital information to devise strategies to avoid instabilities which can reduce fusion power output.

Speedy analysis of steel fiber reinforced concrete Posted: 13 Nov 2013 05:02 AM PST Steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) is a practical construction material that is quick and easy to use. But monitoring SFRC quality is difficult, and this has kept industry acceptance low. A new method offers a quick way to examine its composition.

Solar cells utilize thermal radiation Posted: 13 Nov 2013 05:01 AM PST Thermal radiation from the sun is largely lost on most silicon solar cells. Up-converters transform the infrared radiation into usable light, however. Researchers have now for the first time successfully adapted this effect for use in generating power.

Young stars paint spectacular stellar landscape Posted: 13 Nov 2013 05:01 AM PST Most stars do not form alone, but with many siblings that are created at about the same time from a single cloud of gas and dust. NGC 3572, in the southern constellation of Carina (The Keel), is one of these clusters. It contains many hot young blue-white stars that shine brightly and generate powerful stellar winds that tend to gradually disperse the remaining gas and dust from their surroundings. The glowing gas clouds and accompanying cluster of stars are the subjects of a new picture from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Riding an electron wave into the future of microchip fabrication Posted: 12 Nov 2013 05:08 PM PST Advanced plasma-based etching is a key enabler of Moore's Law that observes that the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles nearly every two years. It is the plasma's ability to reproduce fine patterns on silicon that makes this scaling possible and has made plasma sources ubiquitous in microchip manufacturing.

Structure of bacterial nanowire protein hints at secrets of conduction Posted: 12 Nov 2013 05:04 PM PST Tiny electrical wires protrude from some bacteria and contribute to rock and dirt formation. Researchers studying the protein that makes up one such wire have determined the protein's structure. The finding is important to such diverse fields as producing energy, recycling Earth's carbon and miniaturizing computers.

Animal, human health benefits anticipated from new biomedical instrument Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:36 AM PST A biomedical instrument that can heat specific cells in the body while simultaneously producing real-time, high-resolution images of the heat's effects on tumors and inflamed cells is anticipated to help with animal, human health.

Building block for exoskeleton could lead to more independence among elderly Posted: 12 Nov 2013 07:50 AM PST Researchers are studying human movement as they work on creating an exoskeleton to benefit elderly patients, stroke patients and paraplegics.

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