ScienceIQ.com

Space Lasers Keep Earth's Air Clean

Space laser technology is coming to our smokestacks and automobiles. Leave it to NASA to take its inventions to another level, helping to keep our air clean and breathable. A recent NASA invention, originally designed to help lasers control carbon monoxide in the cold environment of space, is now being tested for use here on Earth. The technology ...

Continue reading...

SpaceLasersKeepEarthsAirClean
Chemistry

Table Salt - It's All In The Ions

All elements are defined by their individual atoms, which are in turn identified by the number of protons in the nucleus of each atom. Since protons are carriers of positive electrical charge, there ... Continue reading

TableSaltItsAllInTheIons
Chemistry

SO2: What is it? Where does it come from?

Sulfur dioxide, or SO2, belongs to the family of sulfur oxide gases (SOx). These gases dissolve easily in water. Sulfur is prevalent in all raw materials, including crude oil, coal, and ore that ... Continue reading

SO2
Geology

Robin's Egg Blue

Turquoise, the robin's egg blue gemstone worn by Pharaohs and Aztec Kings, is probably one of the oldest gemstones known. Yet, only its prized blue color, a color so distinctive that its name is used ... Continue reading

RobinsEggBlue
Engineering

New York to London in Less Than Two Hours

If flying from New York (USA) to London (UK) in less than two hours sounds like science fiction, continue reading. On September 1, 1974 Major James V. Sullivan, 37 (pilot) and Noel F. Widdifield, 33 ... Continue reading

FastestPlane

What is Volcanic Ash?

VolcanicAshSmall jagged pieces of rocks, minerals, and volcanic glass the size of sand and silt (less than 1/12 inch or 2 millimeters in diameter) erupted by a volcano are called volcanic ash. Very small ash particles can be less than 1/25,000th of an inch (0.001 millimeter) across. Though called 'ash,' volcanic ash is not the product of combustion, like the soft fluffy material created by burning wood, leaves, or paper. Volcanic ash is hard, does not dissolve in water, is extremely abrasive and mildly corrosive, and conducts electricity when wet.

Volcanic ash is formed during explosive volcanic eruptions. Explosive eruptions occur when gases dissolved in molten rock (magma) expand and escape violently into the air, and also when water is heated by magma and abruptly flashes into steam. The force of the escaping gas violently shatters solid rocks. Expanding gas also shreds magma and blasts it into the air, where it solidifies into fragments of volcanic rock and glass.

Once in the air, hot ash and gas rise quickly to form a towering eruption column, often more than 30,000 feet, (9144 m) high. Larger rock fragments more than 2 inches, (5 cm) across ejected by the explosion typically fall within a few miles of the eruption site. However, wind can quickly blow fine ash away from the volcano to form an eruption cloud. As the cloud drifts downwind from the erupting volcano, the ash that falls from the cloud typically becomes smaller in size and forms a thinner layer. Ash clouds can travel thousands of miles, and some even circle the Earth.