ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

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• Faraway moon or faint star? Possible exomoon found
• Odds that global warming is due to natural factors: Slim to none
• Impact of the 1,000 mph supersonic car predicted
• Better solar cells, better LED light and vast optical possibilities
• New form of matter: Exotic hadron with two quarks, two anti-quarks confirmed
• Search for elusive dark matter: Looking for traces by studying particles with low masses and interaction rates
• NASA's Hubble extends stellar tape measure 10 times farther into space
• Nanostructures with applications in infrared and terahertz ranges
• Passive houses save lots of energy
• The ATM strikes back: Researchers protect money with method borrowed from an aggressive beetle
• How widespread is tax evasion? Cost of 'round-tripping,' a method investors use to avoid the tax collector
• Making ethanol without corn or other plants
• At long last: Concrete that's nearly maintenance-free

Faraway moon or faint star? Possible exomoon found Posted: 12 Apr 2014 06:41 AM PDT Titan, Europa, Io and Phobos are just a few members of our solar system's pantheon of moons. Are there are other moons out there, orbiting planets beyond our sun? Researchers have spotted the first signs of an "exomoon," and though they say it's impossible to confirm its presence, the finding is a tantalizing first step toward locating others. The discovery was made by watching a chance encounter of objects in our galaxy, which can be witnessed only once.

Odds that global warming is due to natural factors: Slim to none Posted: 11 Apr 2014 12:34 PM PDT An analysis of temperature data since 1500 all but rules out the possibility that global warming in the industrial era is just a natural fluctuation in the earth's climate, according to a new study.

Impact of the 1,000 mph supersonic car predicted Posted: 11 Apr 2014 07:31 AM PDT What are the aerodynamic characteristics of traveling at 1,000 mph? Simulations have looked at how the car will cope with the supersonic rolling ground, rotating wheels and resulting shock waves in close proximity to the test surface at the record attempt site in Hakskeen Pan, South Africa. Where, in 2015, it will make high speed test runs of up to 800mph, with the full 1,000mph attempt scheduled for 2016.

Better solar cells, better LED light and vast optical possibilities Posted: 11 Apr 2014 07:29 AM PDT Changes at the atom level in nanowires offer vast possibilities for improvement of solar cells and LED light. Researchers have discovered that by tuning a small strain on single nanowires they can become more effective in LEDs and solar cells.

New form of matter: Exotic hadron with two quarks, two anti-quarks confirmed Posted: 11 Apr 2014 06:19 AM PDT Physicists have confirmed the existence of exotic hadrons -- a type of matter that cannot be classified within the traditional quark model. "We've confirmed the unambiguous observation of a very exotic state -- something that looks like a particle composed of two quarks and two anti-quarks," said one of the scientists. "The discovery certainly doesn't fit the traditional quark model. It may give us a new way of looking at strong-interaction physics."

Search for elusive dark matter: Looking for traces by studying particles with low masses and interaction rates Posted: 11 Apr 2014 06:19 AM PDT The ongoing search for invisible dark matter is a subject of great interest to physicists. Although dark matter has never been seen directly, it is thought to be six times more prevalent in the universe than normal matter.

NASA's Hubble extends stellar tape measure 10 times farther into space Posted: 11 Apr 2014 06:19 AM PDT Astronomers now can precisely measure the distance of stars up to 10,000 light-years away -- 10 times farther than previously possible. Astronomers have developed yet another novel way to use the 24-year-old space telescope by employing a technique called spatial scanning, which dramatically improves Hubble's accuracy for making angular measurements. The technique, when applied to the age-old method for gauging distances called astronomical parallax, extends Hubble's tape measure 10 times farther into space.

Nanostructures with applications in infrared and terahertz ranges Posted: 11 Apr 2014 06:18 AM PDT Scientists have created a compound semiconductor of nearly perfect quality with embedded nanostructures containing ordered lines of atoms that can manipulate light energy in the mid-infrared range. More efficient solar cells, less risky and higher resolution biological imaging, and the ability to transmit massive amounts of data at higher speeds are only a few applications that this unique semiconductor will be able to support.

Passive houses save lots of energy Posted: 11 Apr 2014 06:17 AM PDT Housing is the easiest sector to change if we are to reach the climate targets, experts say. Norwegian research shows the housing sector today represents about one-third of the country's energy consumption, or about 35 terawatt hours out of a total of 112 terawatt hours. As a result, it is indirectly one of largest contributors to Norway's greenhouse gas emissions.

The ATM strikes back: Researchers protect money with method borrowed from an aggressive beetle Posted: 11 Apr 2014 06:14 AM PDT Its head and pronotum are usually rusty red, and its abdomen blue or shiny green: the bombardier beetle is approximately one centimeter long and common to Central Europe. At first glance, it appears harmless, but it possesses what is surely the most aggressive chemical defense system in nature. When threatened, the bombardier beetle releases a caustic spray, accompanied by a popping sound. Researchers are now borrowing methods from the bombardier beetle to protect ATMs.

How widespread is tax evasion? Cost of 'round-tripping,' a method investors use to avoid the tax collector Posted: 10 Apr 2014 11:19 AM PDT Tax evasion is widely assumed to be an eternal problem for governments -- but how widespread is it? For the first time, a new study has put a cost on a particular kind of tax evasion, known as "round-tripping," that the U.S. government has been trying to thwart.

Making ethanol without corn or other plants Posted: 09 Apr 2014 10:47 AM PDT A copper-based catalyst that produces large quantities of ethanol from carbon monoxide gas at room temperature has been developed by scientists. This promising discovery could provide an eco-friendly alternative to conventional ethanol production from corn and other crops, say the scientists.

At long last: Concrete that's nearly maintenance-free Posted: 09 Apr 2014 10:43 AM PDT A cement composite that is durable, water-resistant and malleable has been created by engineers. It has such a high level of "crack control" that the researchers estimate it has a service life of 120 years or more. To compare, the average life span of concrete roads falls in the 40-50-year range, with up to 10 percent of reinforced bridge decks needing replacement after 30 years.

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