ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• A modern twist on Young's slits
• Multilayer polymers spring into action: Mechanical vibrations turned into electrical energy
• Forever clean? Metal–organic 'micromushrooms' repel all
• Fruit flies, fighter jets use similar nimble tactics when under attack
• Gigabit wireless communications: Research could have significant implications for future of mobile devices
• Thermoelectric generator on glass fabric for wearable electronic devices
• Researchers bolster development of programmable quantum computers
• Virus structure inspires novel understanding of onion-like carbon nanoparticles
• Sunlight generates hydrogen in new porous silicon
• Microgravity research helping to understand the fungi within
• Should you trust your financial advisor? Pseudo-mathematics and financial charlatanism
• Magnetization can surf on the top of a laser-induced sound wave
• Neurofinance study confirms that financial decisions are made on an emotional basis
• New climate pragmatism framework prioritizes energy access to drive innovation and development
• The motion of the medium matters for self-assembling particles
• Emerging research suggests a new paradigm for 'unconventional superconductors'
• Dangerous ways computer worms are spreading among smartphones
• One kind of supersymmetry shown to emerge naturally: Unique phenomenon in condensed matter system
• Hedge funds generally make financial markets work more smoothly, expert argues
• Google Glass puts the focus on Parkinson's
• Method offers potential for understanding anti-bacterial resistance

A modern twist on Young's slits Posted: 10 Apr 2014 01:02 PM PDT A landmark experiment on wave interference from the early 1800s is revisited using gold nanoparticles. In the eighteenth century, scientists faced a conundrum: is light a wave or a particle? One of strongest pieces of evidence to support the 'wave view' -- the landmark double-slit experiment -- was reported in 1804 by the scientist Thomas Young. Young passed coherent light through two closely spaced slits and observed a set of interference fringes, a result that occurs with wave phenomena like sound or water. This observation became the basis for the modern wave theory of light.

Multilayer polymers spring into action: Mechanical vibrations turned into electrical energy Posted: 10 Apr 2014 01:02 PM PDT Flexible plastics that turn mechanical vibrations into electrical energy could spur the development of self-powered sensors and devices. The shrinking dimensions and decreased power consumption of modern electronic gadgets have created opportunities for energy harvesting processes that tap into free, green energy from the environment. Vibration harvesters, for example, produce small amounts of electricity from everyday mechanical disturbances such as wind currents, traffic noise or footsteps.

Forever clean? Metal–organic 'micromushrooms' repel all Posted: 10 Apr 2014 01:02 PM PDT A clever chemical transformation yields surface-bound microstructures that efficiently drive away oil- and water-based contaminants. Natural surfaces that repel water, such as lotus leaves or butterfly wings, often have a rough, microscale texture that traps air beneath the liquid droplet. By mimicking these biological structures, researchers have developed 'superhydrophobic' coatings that are highly resistant to wetting. One trick unknown to nature, however, is the ability to repel hydrocarbon-based oils that have much lower surface tension than water and tend to spread out rather than bead up.

Fruit flies, fighter jets use similar nimble tactics when under attack Posted: 10 Apr 2014 11:17 AM PDT When startled by predators, tiny fruit flies respond like fighter jets, employing screaming-fast banked turns to evade attacks. In the midst of a banked turn, the flies can roll on their sides 90 degrees or more, almost flying upside down at times. Researchers used an array of high-speed video cameras operating at 7,500 frames a second to capture the wing and body motion of flies after they encountered a looming image of an approaching predator.

Gigabit wireless communications: Research could have significant implications for future of mobile devices Posted: 10 Apr 2014 10:15 AM PDT The millimeter-wave band (58-63GHz) is seen as a perfect candidate for short-range gigabit wireless communications. These networks are envisaged to satisfy the demands of future data-rate hungry applications but few studies have analysed the potential of frequency reuse at 60GHz.

Thermoelectric generator on glass fabric for wearable electronic devices Posted: 10 Apr 2014 10:14 AM PDT Wearable computers or devices have been hailed as the next generation of mobile electronic gadgets, from smart watches to smart glasses to smart pacemakers. For electronics to be worn by a user, they must be light, flexible, and equipped with a power source, which could be a portable, long-lasting battery or no battery at all but a generator. How to supply power in a stable and reliable manner is one of the most critical issues to commercialize wearable devices. Scientists have now proposed a solution to this problem by developing a glass fabric-based thermoelectric (TE) generator that is extremely light and flexible and produces electricity from the heat of the human body.

Researchers bolster development of programmable quantum computers Posted: 10 Apr 2014 10:12 AM PDT Scientists have performed a proof-of-concept experiment that will aid the future development of programmable quantum computers. In a new study, the researchers describe an experiment that was performed on a crystal containing trillions, rather than hundreds, of quantum mechanical spins, which replicates some of the features of the current generation of much smaller, specialized computers.

Virus structure inspires novel understanding of onion-like carbon nanoparticles Posted: 10 Apr 2014 09:22 AM PDT Symmetry is ubiquitous in the natural world. It occurs in gemstones and snowflakes and even in biology, an area typically associated with complexity and diversity. There are striking examples: the shapes of virus particles, such as those causing the common cold, are highly symmetrical and look like tiny footballs.

Sunlight generates hydrogen in new porous silicon Posted: 10 Apr 2014 08:12 AM PDT Porous silicon manufactured in a bottom up procedure using solar energy can be used to generate hydrogen from water, according to mechanical engineers who also see applications for batteries, biosensors and optical electronics as outlets for this new material.

Microgravity research helping to understand the fungi within Posted: 10 Apr 2014 07:39 AM PDT You may not recognize it by name, but if you have ever had a child with a diaper rash, that child was likely a host to Candida albicans (C. albicans). This unwelcome "guest" can be hard to control, as it can potentially lead to serious illness in humans with weakened immune systems. During an investigation dubbed "Microbe," using the unique microgravity environment aboard space shuttle Atlantis on an International Space Station mission, researchers gained a better understanding of these prevalent fungi. Their tendency to become more aggressive in microgravity helps scientists see what mechanisms control the behavior of these types of organisms, with the potential to develop ways to influence their behavior both in space and on Earth.

Should you trust your financial advisor? Pseudo-mathematics and financial charlatanism Posted: 10 Apr 2014 07:30 AM PDT Your financial advisor calls you up to suggest a new investment scheme. Drawing on 20 years of data, he has set his computer to work on this question: If you had invested according to this scheme in the past, which portfolio would have been the best? His computer assembled thousands of such simulated portfolios and calculated for each one an industry-standard measure of return on risk. Out of this gargantuan calculation, your advisor has chosen the optimal portfolio. After briefly reminding you of the oft-repeated slogan that "past performance is not an indicator of future results," the advisor enthusiastically recommends the portfolio, noting that it is based on sound mathematical methods. Should you invest?

Magnetization can surf on the top of a laser-induced sound wave Posted: 10 Apr 2014 05:34 AM PDT An effective coupling between magnetism and light can be mediated by sound. This newly discovered phenomenon could be important for recording data on a magnetic device with the help of light.

Neurofinance study confirms that financial decisions are made on an emotional basis Posted: 10 Apr 2014 05:33 AM PDT The willingness of decision makers to take risks increases when they play games of chance with money won earlier.  Risk taking also rises when they have the opportunity to compensate for earlier losses by breaking even.

New climate pragmatism framework prioritizes energy access to drive innovation and development Posted: 09 Apr 2014 05:45 PM PDT Expanding access to reliable energy offers better route to address global challenges, climate and energy scholars say in new report. "Climate change can't be solved on the backs of the world's poorest people," said a report co-author. "The key to solving for both climate and poverty is helping nations build innovative energy systems that can deliver cheap, clean and reliable power."

The motion of the medium matters for self-assembling particles Posted: 09 Apr 2014 05:45 PM PDT Earlier work assumed that the liquid medium in which certain self-assembling particles float could be treated as a placid vacuum, but scientists have now shown that fluid dynamics play a crucial role in the kind and quality of the structures that can be made in this way.

Emerging research suggests a new paradigm for 'unconventional superconductors' Posted: 09 Apr 2014 05:45 PM PDT Scientists have reported the first experimental observation of the quantum critical point in the extensively studied 'unconventional superconductor' TiSe2, finding that it does not reside as predicted within the superconducting dome of the phase diagram, but rather at a full GPa higher in pressure.

Dangerous ways computer worms are spreading among smartphones Posted: 09 Apr 2014 05:45 PM PDT Scientists have recently discovered that some of the most common activities among smartphone users -- scanning 2-D barcodes, finding free Wi-Fi access points, sending SMS messages, listening to MP3 music and watching MP4 videos -- can leave devices vulnerable to harmful 'computer worms.'

One kind of supersymmetry shown to emerge naturally: Unique phenomenon in condensed matter system Posted: 09 Apr 2014 12:57 PM PDT Physicists show that a topological superconductor is conducive to displaying phenomena of emergent supersymmetry. Sought after in the realm of subatomic particles by physicists for several decades, supersymmetry describes a unique relationship between particles.

Hedge funds generally make financial markets work more smoothly, expert argues Posted: 09 Apr 2014 06:40 AM PDT Financial markets generally work better thanks to so called "hedge" funds. "Although hedge funds are not well understood by the general public, they provide many important services to the wider economy," said an expert.

Google Glass puts the focus on Parkinson's Posted: 08 Apr 2014 06:33 PM PDT The next generation of wearable computing is being trialled for the first time to evaluate its potential to support people with Parkinson's. Glass is a wearable computer being developed by Google. Likened to the kind of technology fictionalized in the Hollywood Blockbuster Minority Report, at first glance Glass appears to be no more than a pair of designer glasses. But the system works like a hands-free smartphone, displaying information on the lens of the Glass. The technology is voice-operated and linked to the internet.

Method offers potential for understanding anti-bacterial resistance Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:48 AM PDT Biologists could gain a deeper understanding about how species have evolved -- and even find ways to address antibiotic resistance -- using tools that were recently developed. By basing their methods on mathematical models and Bayesian analysis, the researchers succeeded in producing tools for biologists who are interested in jumping genes and the traits they carry with them.

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