Quake trigger

quakes can be triggered by tides, as per researchers from the us-based University of California. The tides are produced by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun on the earth, causing the ocean water to rise and fall periodically. This, in turn, raises and lowers the stress on the strata faults roughly twice a day.

A measure of the dark force

there is a mysterious 'dark energy' in the Universe, scientists know from observing exploding stars known as supernovae. This dark energy was first discovered in a landmark experiment in 1998 by a group of astronomers at University of Berkeley, usa. Since then theorists have tried to predict what practice has shown.

Clocking in on mercury

Atomic clocks can now run on mercury rather than caesium. S Diddams at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, usa , has developed an atomic clock that uses mercury atoms. The frequency of oscillations of mercury is much higher than caesium thereby providing for more accurate time measurement. The scientists claim that the mercury clock is about a 100 times more accurate than the caesium clocks. Commercially available caesium clocks are available for use in navigation.

Tiny coolant

A new composite material designed by scientists at the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina promises to be of great use in cooling down computer chips and other miniature devices. The new material is a superlattice -- a stack of very thin films of two alternating alloys. Each layer is a few millionths of a millimetre thick, and so contains just several dozen layers of atoms. Since the material is extremely thin, it can be used efficiently in cooling microchips where they can cool many thousands of times faster than bigger centimetre sized devices ( Nature , Vol 413, p597).

The pressure is off

Boron Nitride is the second hardest material known to us and is used extensively in cutting and grinding tools. It is usually made by mixing the two elements at very high temperatures and then squeezing the mixture at high pressures of about 500,000 times our atmospheric pressure. Chinese researchers have reported a process of making boron nitride at 500C. B L Cui and his colleagues at the Shandong University have made tiny boron nitride crystals by heating a mixture of boron tribromide and lithium nitride, using benzene as a solvent.

Packing more power

scientists in Italy have discovered a new form of oxygen. In addition to the two well-known forms -- ozone and the oxygen molecules in air -- there is a third, they say, in which oxygen atoms are grouped in fours. If these results bear out then we might have a better fuel source for the future.

Energy from acids

hydrogen powered vehicles are amongst the most promising clean vehicles that are on the design board. Unlike engines powered by conventional hydrocarbons like petrol, hydrogen burns leaving only water as a waste. No carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide is released. But the easy and cheap availability of hydrogen is a major concern in widespread use of these environment friendly engines. Now a team of chemists in the us has developed a catalyst that could convert cheap acids into hydrogen.

Stones at stones' worth

a new process to make diamonds, which are not only the woman's best friend, but also of immense use in industrial processes, could cut the cost of producing the stone drastically. Industries use diamonds as tips of boring bits, among other things, as it is the hardest substance on Earth.

Ground hero

as huge amounts of nuclear waste -- both from nuclear power plants and military installations -- is stored under less than foolproof conditions, the danger of lethal radioactive compounds leaking into the environment is substantial. One of the nightmares of nuclear scientists is the contamination of groundwater sources by radioactive wastes.

Burning bright

in countries where a large number of the population still live in villages, biogas could serve as a potentially limitless fuel source for a variety of purposes. But one problem with burning biogas is the production of many polluting byproducts because of inefficient burning of the fuel.