MEANING, CAUSE , AND MEASURING SCALE OF EARTHQUAKES

By Idongesit F. Oduok

What is earthquake

Earthquake is defined as any sudden shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves through Earth’s rocks.

 

What causes earthquake

An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust and cause the shaking that we feel.

 

How is earthquake measured

The Richter scale also called the Richter magnitude scale or Richter's magnitude scale is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 paper, where he called it the "magnitude scale".

 

The scale is graded from 0 – 9. Earthquake measuring 0 – 4 are minor, from 4 – 7 are moderate, and over 7 are severe.

 

Focus of earthquake

The focus is the place inside Earth’s crust where an earthquake originates. The point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus is the epicenter. When energy is released at the focus, seismic waves travel outward from that point in all directions. There are different types of seismic waves, each one traveling at varying speeds and motions. It's these waves that you feel during an earthquake.

 

Effects of earthquake

1.    Earthquakes cause the death of people and animals in places where they occur.

2.   They also cause the destruction of buildings, roads, bridges, railways and telecommunications.

3.    They also displace parts of the earth’s crust, either vertically or laterally.

4.    They can also raise or lower coastal rocks.

5.    They can raise or lower parts of the ocean floor.

They can cause landslides and open deep cracks in surface rocks. 

FOOD POISONING: 3 SIBLINGS DIE IN KWARA AFTER EATING AMALA

 

I did not say the food was poisoned, I am saying they died of food poisoning. Report has it that the victims were reportedly rushed to a hospital on Princess Road, Ilorin, when they complained of abdominal pains and started vomiting.

Amala is a Nigerian native food obtained from yam (Dioscorea rotundata). The yam is peeled, sliced, dried, and milled into flour (elubo). It is thereafter prepared into paste (amala) with hot water.

What could have killed these people? Two possibilities in my opinion: 1. Botulism  or 2. Cyanide. The first is a biochemical while the second is chemical.

Botulism is a rare but serious condition caused by toxins from bacteria called Clostridium botulinum. This could have occurred at the drying stage of the processing step. The drying is often done using the sun. At this stage if there is no adequate amount of sun to evaporate the moisture within a considerable amount of time, biochemical processes will set in (most of it is undesired).

Cyanide is a dangerous chemical found in wild species (cultivar) of yam. Cyanide is a rapidly acting, potentially deadly chemical that can exist in various forms. Cyanogenic glycosides are natural plant toxins that are present in several plants, most of which are consumed by humans. Cyanide is formed following the hydrolysis of cyanogenic glycosides that occur during crushing of the edible plant material either during consumption or during processing of the food crop. Exposure to cyanide from unintentional or intentional consumption of cyanogenic glycosides may lead to acute intoxications, characterized by growth retardation and neurological symptoms resulting from tissue damage in the central nervous system (CNS).

If you must sundry any food item, ensure there is adequate intensity of sunlight to ensure food safety. Driers will be better.

Stay safe

EKET BRANCH OF THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS (NSE) GREATLY MISS AN ICON, LATE ENGR. T. J. MANAM (FNSE)

 

Engr. T. J. Manam was from Effoi in Eket L.G.A. of Akwa Ibom State. He obtained his National Diploma (ND) from Polytechnic, Calabar, Higher National Diploma (HND) from Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, and Bachelor's Degree (B.Eng) from University of Uyo - All in Electrical/Electronic Engineering.

He worked with Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited and retired as a Training and Competency Assurance Standard Manager.

He was a Fellow, Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), Fellow, Nigerian Institute of Electrical/Electronics Engineers (FNIEEE), Fellow, Nigerian Institution of Safety Engineers (FNISafetyE)

We at the society will greatly miss your mentorship.

Adieu our great mentor.

WE HAVE A PROCESS THAT USES WASTE PURE WATER SACHET AS BUILDING MATERIAL

 

61 wt % of all the waste plastics generated all over the world are still disposal of to land fill.

 

Plastic waste is non-biodegradable, clog gutters, cause death of fishes and many aquatic animals that must take them as food materials.

 

To this end, we have designed a process that takes waste pure water sachet and convert them into building materials. The sample product there is stronger than conventional blocks and can be used as paving block etc.

 

If you generate large amount of waste pure water sachet, inbox or call us 07037263653 to gladly get the waste from you and use utilize them in viable production processes.

BIOMASS STOVE: Harvesting Green and Sustainable Energy from Agricultural Waste

 

Welcome to Odfid Technical Center.

This is just a model - work is still in progress. This small size stove is using palm kernel shell as its fuel source. Oxygen is supplied by means of a 3V output DC fan. Do you imagine that this test model burns sustainably for 30minutes without smoking! It boils one litre of water within just 5minutes. We are working day and night to scale it up. It is a prototype of a fixed bed reactor (combustor) employing shrinking core model.

We promote biomass energy as a sustainable green energy source. We move to convert agricultural waste to energy. We think renewable.

You can reach us on 07037263653 to register your interest.

"Odfid ... Ensuring competence."

LOOK HOW I USED PLANTAIN PEEL TO MAKE IMPROVED QUALITY BATHING SOAP

 

For a soap to be used for bathing it must be mild on the skin. Soap is produced by reaction between alkali and oil (vegetable or animal source). The popular alkali used in soap making is caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and caustic potash (potassium hydroxide). Potassium hydroxide is a more suitable alkali for bathing soap because it is mild on the skin. However, most soap makers use caustic soda to make bathing soap because of the high cost of potassium hydroxide. To regulate the ash condition of caustic soda, a milder alkali (soda ash is blended).

 

Unripe plantain peel is scientifically known to be a rich source of potassium. This fact enables it to be a viable resource for soap makers to access. In this article I will be highlighting everything needed to extract potassium hydroxide from plantain peel for production of an improved quality bathing soap.

 

Materials Required

1.   Unripe plantain peel

2.   Combustion pan

3.   Vegetable oil e.g. palm oil, palm kernel oil, coconut oil

4.   Water

5.   Spatula

6.   Hydrometer, if available

 

Extraction of Potassium Hydroxide from plantain peel

The peel of unripe plantain is gathered and sun dried for a week. The dried peel is incinerated (burnt) in a combustion pan to make ash. The ash is mixed with water to form slurry. The mixture is allowed to stand for the solid particles to settle while the liquid part is carefully decanted. The liquid part is a concentrated solution of potassium hydroxide which can be gauged using hydrometer. A reading of 1200 is ideal for soap production. If the concentration in the solution is not sufficient, excess water can be evaporated else a little more water is added. In the absence of a hydrometer an old heuristics used by soap makers could be applied. This involves the use of fresh egg. If the egg sinks then the solution is too dilute but if the egg floats the solution is too concentrated. A solution is deemed okay if the egg is submerged by half of its body size. The solution will also change red litmus paper blue.

 

Extracted Potassium Hydroxide

Soap Production

As a model, measure 100ml of vegetable and react with 100ml of the potassium hydroxide and stir till a pap-like substance is obtained (tracing) with a liquid substance formed along-side – this is soap and glycerol being formed. Separate the soap and pour it into a mould while the glycerol is kept aside for another production like liquid detergent. Within 10minutes the soap will solidify (set). Take it out of the mould and allow curing for some days. About 120g of soap is expected with 20ml of glycerol. Cold process of soap production can be used.

 

Important Things to Note

1.   Soap made with palm oil foams (lather) moderately and last longer.

2.   Soap made with palm kernel oil foams vigorously and finishes quickly.

3.   Coconut oil gives soap with improved characteristics, though lathers vigorously and got used up easily.

4.   Oils and alkali can be blended to obtain a blend of the individual raw material ability. 60:40 blend or 75:25 blend gives awesome result.

 

Properties to Measure if you want to register your soap with NAFDAC

For the oils you need to measure and ascertain the following:

1.   Saponification value

2.   Peroxide value

3.   Iodine Value

4.   Free Fatty Acid value

For the soap you need to measure:

1.   pH value

2.   Foam stability

3.   Total Fatty Matter

 

Conclusion

Following the guide provided here will minimize the dependency of soap makers from using imported raw materials and thereby boost our local economy. It will bring more profit. The process is environmentally sustainable as plantain peel is a waste that will be recycled to control pollution. The excellent properties of the bio-alkali with be imparted on the soap.

 

For enquiries mail: odfidservices@gmail.com or visit our Technical Center

 

The author, Idongesit F. Oduok, holds a Diploma in Environmental Engineering and is a Masters Student of Chemical Engineering. He is specializing in design of reactors that utilizes waste from the environment to useful raw materials.

 

SCIENCE TUTORIAL

 SCIENCE TUTORIAL (PRIMARY TO UNIVERSITY 100 LEVEL)

Do you desire a place to give your child sound science foundation in Primary Science, Basic Science, Senior Secondary Science and 100 level University Science then visit our Technical Center. We are experts in Science and Mathematics. We expose our students to science practical apparatus at all level. We help them conquer Common Entrance, Basic Certificate Examinations, WAEC, JAMB etc. We review past question in sciences.

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