A new symmetry underlies the search for new materials
University Park PA (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
A new symmetry operation developed by Penn State researchers has the potential to speed up the search for new advanced materials that range from tougher steels to new types of electronic, magnetic, and thermal materials. With further developments, this technique could also impact the field of computational materials design.
"In the physical sciences, making measurements can be time consumi ...
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Audi to spend 50 mn euros to repair diesel cars in US
New York (AFP) Nov 23, 2015 -
Audi said Monday it will spend about 50 million euros upgrading software that regulators believe flouts US pollution limits in larger diesel cars in the US.
The upscale brand of embattled German auto giant Volkswagen said the repairs will cover auxiliary emission control devices (AECD) for V6 diesel 3.0-liter cars that the Environmental Protection Agency has since early November alleged viol ...
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Stacking instead of mixing cools down the chips
Julich, Germany (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
The overheating of computer chips is a major obstacle to the development of faster and more efficient computers and mobile phones. One promising remedy for this problem could be a class of materials first discovered just a few years ago: topological insulators, which conduct electricity with less resistance and heat generation than conventional materials. Research on these materials is still in ...
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'Shrinking bull's-eye' algorithm speeds up complex modeling from days to hours
Boston MA (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
To work with computational models is to work in a world of unknowns: Models that simulate complex physical processes - from Earth's changing climate to the performance of hypersonic combustion engines - are staggeringly complex, sometimes incorporating hundreds of parameters, each of which describes a piece of the larger process.
Parameters are often question marks within their models, the ...
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Human reflexes may keep legged robots from tripping
Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
Trips and stumbles too often lead to falls for amputees using leg prosthetics, but a robotic leg prosthesis being developed at Carnegie Mellon University promises to help users recover their balance by using techniques based on the way human legs are controlled.
Hartmut Geyer, assistant professor of robotics, said a control strategy devised by studying human reflexes and other neuromuscula ...
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Electron partitioning process in graphene observed
Osaka, Japan (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
Graphene, a single atomic layer of graphite with a carbon-layered structure, has been drawing much attention because of its abundant electronic properties and the possibilities of application due to its unique electronic structure. Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov extracted single-atom-thick crystallites from bulk graphite in 2004 for the first time. This results earned them the Nobel Prize i ...
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Success in producing a completely rare-earth free Feni magnet
Sendai, Japan (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
Researchers from Tohoku University in Japan have succeeded in producing a completely rare-earth free high-quality FeNi magnet. The team, led by Professor Akihiro Makino as principal investigator are supported by a MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan) project entitled, "Ultra-low Core Loss Magnetic Material Technology Area," under the framework of the "Toho ...
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Flexoelectricity is more than Moore
Barcelona, Spain (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
The information revolution is synonymous with the traditional quest to pack more chips and increase computing power. This quest is embodied by the famous "Moore's law", which predicts that the number of transistors per chip doubles every couple of years and has held true for a remarkably long time.
However, as Moore's law approaches its limit, a parallel quest is becoming increasingly impo ...
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Bringing the chaos in light sources under control
New York NY (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
Noise is an issue in optical telecommunications. And findings means of controlling noise is key to physicists investigating light-emitting diodes or lasers. Now, an Italo-Iraqi team has worked on a particular type of light source, called the quantum dot light-emitting diode (QDLED).
In a study published in EPJ D, Kais Al Namee from the National Institute of Optics, in Florence, Italy and c ...
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Puffed rice cereal compaction unveils new phenomenon in materials science
San Diego CA (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
There's more to the snap, crackle and pop of Rice Krispies than meets the ear. A recent study by San Diego State University civil engineering professor Julio Valdes used the breakfast cereal to discover a new phenomenon in materials science: highly porous, brittle materials can deform in different ways depending on compaction velocity. Put another way, the speed at which one crushes a tube full ...
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United Launch Alliance Reveals Transformational CubeSat Launch Program
Centennial CO (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
As the most experienced launch company in the nation, United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced it is taking CubeSat rideshares to the next level by launching a new, innovative program offering universities the chance to compete for free CubeSat rides on future launches.
"ULA will offer universities the chance to compete for at least six CubeSat launch slots on two Atlas V missions, with a go ...
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NASA selects Northeastern for humanoid robot research
Chicago IL (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
On Tuesday, NASA announced that Northeastern and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will perform advanced research and development work on humanoid robot prototypes, a project that could help astronauts successfully touch down and work on the red planet. NASA envisions these robots, one day, proving themselves worthy in deep space exploration, as well.
Under the direction of princip ...
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Russian-US Space Collaboration Intact Despite Chill in Bilateral Ties
Moscow (Sputnik) Nov 25, 2015 -
Despite the deterioration of relations between Russia and the United States here on Earth, the two countries continue to cooperate when it comes to space exploration, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
Moscow and Washington remain close allies in the space sector despite the cooler relationship between Russia and the US, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported.
According to t ...
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New detector perfect for asteroid mining, planetary research
Nashville TN (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
The grizzled asteroid miner is a stock character in science fiction. Now, a couple of recent events - one legal and the other technological - have brought asteroid mining a step closer to reality.
The legal step was taken when the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed a bill titled H.R. 2262--SPACE Act of 2015. The bill has a number of measures designed to facilitate ...
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Blue Origin lands booster rocket
Washington (AFP) Nov 24, 2015 -
The private space firm founded by Internet entrepreneur Jeff Bezos claimed a breakthrough for its space travel efforts Tuesday with the launch of a reusable rocket.
Bezos announced the milestone with his first Twitter message following the launch and return of the rocket by his firm, Blue Origin.
"The rarest of beasts - a used rocket. Controlled landing not easy, but done right, can loo ...
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Study links deep-time dust with major impacts on carbon cycling
Norman OK (SPX) Nov 24, 2015 -
A University of Oklahoma-led study links vast amounts of iron-rich dust deposits from the late Paleozoic period of 300 million years ago with implications for major ecosystem fertilization and a massive drawdown of atmospheric carbon.
Understanding iron fertilization and other deep-time events may explain present and future climate change and aid scientists and policymakers when making dec ...
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Thales sub-contracted for NATO BMD test activities
Paris (UPI) Nov 20, 2015 -
Thales is to perform test and integration support activities to help validate NATO's Ballistic Missile Defense capability.
The work, under a sub-contract from U.S.-based Leidos, is to be conducted as part of Leidos' multi-national team for NATO's BMD architecture. The team is responsible for the design, development and test of the BMD sensor interfaces with NATO's weapons and sensors an ...
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India test fires Advanced Air Defense missile
Washington (UPI) Nov 23, 2015 -
India test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile from a test range off the Odisha coast on Monday.
The test, part of the Indian Ballistic Missile Defense Program, was performed by the Defence Research Development Organisation to evaluate the various parameters of the missile in its flight mode. Defense officials hailed the test as a success.
"At around 1 ...
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Newtec expands Astra Connect broadband service for Africa's Oil and Gas Sector
Cape Town, South Africa (SPX) Nov 22, 2015 -
SES Techcom Services has announced that it will be expanding its Astra Connect broadband service in Africa for the Enterprise and Oil and Gas markets via the Newtec Dialog multiservice platform on SES's ASTRA 2G satellite.
SES is extending its current relationship with long-term partner Newtec - a specialist in designing, developing and manufacturing equipment and technologies for satellit ...
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Tracking new missions from down under
Paris (ESA) Nov 25, 2015 -
For beachgoers, Australia's pristine west coast is an ideal location to catch some rays. It is also ideal for catching signals from newly launched rockets and satellites, which is one reason why ESA is redeveloping its tracking capabilities down under.
When rockets and their satellites leap into the sky from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, they typically head east across the A ...
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Aerojet Rocketdyne to restart development of new rocket engine
Sacramento CA (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), has signed a contract with Boeing valued at nearly $200 million that supports a new era of spaceflight - one that will carry humans to the International Space Station (ISS) from American soil once again. Under its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) subcontract to Boeing, Aerojet Rocketdyne is compl ...
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NASA plans twin sounding rocket launches over Norway this winter
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
This winter, two sounding rockets will launch through the aurora borealis over Norway to study how particles move in a region near the North Pole where Earth's magnetic field is directly connected to the solar wind. After the launch window opens on Nov. 27, 2015, the CAPER and RENU 2 rockets will have to wait for low winds and a daytime aurora before they can send their instrument payloads soari ...
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NEOWISE observes carbon gases in comets
Pasadena CA (JPL) Nov 25, 2015 -
After its launch in 2009, NASA's NEOWISE spacecraft observed 163 comets during the WISE/NEOWISE prime mission. This sample from the space telescope represents the largest infrared survey of comets to date. Data from the survey are giving new insights into the dust, comet nucleus sizes, and production rates for difficult-to-observe gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
Carbon monox ...
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Operation IceBridge Completes Twin Polar Campaigns
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
NASA's Operation IceBridge, an airborne survey of polar ice, recently finalized two overlapping campaigns at both of Earth's poles. Down south, the mission observed a big drop in the height of two glaciers situated in the Antarctic Peninsula, while in the north it collected much needed measurements of the status of land and sea ice at the end of the Arctic summer melt season.
This was the ...
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Developing new standards of drone operations
Moffett Field CA (SPX) Nov 25, 2015 -
A test pilot operates a virtual large unmanned aircraft system, or UAS, with simulated air traffic at a NASA research ground control station. The pilot uses the main traffic display for situational awareness.
When detect-and-avoid systems notify the pilot that other traffic is too close, he uses a command and control interface to maneuver the aircraft into a safer trajectory. The pilot is ...
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