Scientists Gain Insight Into Earth
By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
A team of Korean scientists has analyzed magma in precision, which may be described as a crystal ball to occurrences in the mysterious innermost part of the earth.
The team, led by Prof. Lee Sung-keun at Seoul National University, Tuesday said they found how magma’s atomic structure changes with increased pressure inside the earth.
``When we racked up pressure on borate glass, which constitutes magma, its atomic structures and properties changed,’’ the 34-year-old said.
``Up until now, the study of magma has been difficult due to a lack of technology to measure microscopic atomic structures of non-crystal lines like liquid and glass. However, we could view the alteration of magma through X-ray scattering,’’ he added.
The finding is expected to ignite brisk research on magma, the molten rock located beneath the surface of the earth.
``If we dig a little deeper, we will be able to gauge the amount of radioactive isotopes in magma, a turbine engine of the earth. Then we can determine the life expectancy of this planet by projecting when the fuels will run out,’’ Lee claimed.
In addition to the academic purposes, Lee said the new finding can be applied for commercial use.
``Glasses used as advanced optical materials have similar atomic structures to borate glass. Subsequently, we can apply our new technology to make new substances,’’ Lee said.
The breakthrough will be featured in the next edition of the Nature Materials, a Britain-based peer-reviewed scientific journal published every month.
from the korea times
Staff Reporter
A team of Korean scientists has analyzed magma in precision, which may be described as a crystal ball to occurrences in the mysterious innermost part of the earth.
The team, led by Prof. Lee Sung-keun at Seoul National University, Tuesday said they found how magma’s atomic structure changes with increased pressure inside the earth.
``When we racked up pressure on borate glass, which constitutes magma, its atomic structures and properties changed,’’ the 34-year-old said.
``Up until now, the study of magma has been difficult due to a lack of technology to measure microscopic atomic structures of non-crystal lines like liquid and glass. However, we could view the alteration of magma through X-ray scattering,’’ he added.
The finding is expected to ignite brisk research on magma, the molten rock located beneath the surface of the earth.
``If we dig a little deeper, we will be able to gauge the amount of radioactive isotopes in magma, a turbine engine of the earth. Then we can determine the life expectancy of this planet by projecting when the fuels will run out,’’ Lee claimed.
In addition to the academic purposes, Lee said the new finding can be applied for commercial use.
``Glasses used as advanced optical materials have similar atomic structures to borate glass. Subsequently, we can apply our new technology to make new substances,’’ Lee said.
The breakthrough will be featured in the next edition of the Nature Materials, a Britain-based peer-reviewed scientific journal published every month.
from the korea times
posted by Joa at
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
