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The interior of the earth is at a high temperature of about 50000C.At this temperature
the rock and minerals will be in molten form and they are called Lava. Due to the high
temperature, pressure builds up and when the pressure is large enough, the molten lava
erupts through the volcano. Thus volcano serves as opening of safety valve as in a pressure
cooker.

After volcano, the pressure inside the earth decrease and this causes change in interior
structure

EARTH QUAKE

The surface of the earth is made up of layers of rocks called tectonic plates. Due to
change in the interior structure of the earth, the plates start moving. This is due to
change in pressure and temperature. When a plate moves, the earth above it slides
vertically down. This causes the seismic waves on the surface of the earth. The amplitude
of the wave is measured using an instrument called seismograph. Thus seismograph
measures the intensity of earth quake.

Unit of Earth quake:

The intensity of earth quake is measured in Ritcherscale.This unit is defined as

R= log10(A)

Where A is the amplitude of vertical vibration in micrometer.

If
A=1 micro meter, R= 0

This 1 µm vibration can be due to motion of a lorry or a train.

If A =1 m = 106 µm, R = 6

Thus R=0 is generally allowed R=6 can be disastrous.

During tsunami (Dec 2004), R=9.this includes A= 1km.

(Tsunami ²Tidal waves)

The sea bed was lifted by 1km upward which caused Tidal waves. Tsunami can be caused by
three reasons

1. When meteors fall into the sea

2. When volcano eruption occurs under the sea

3. When Earthquake occurs at seabed.

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Rainfall is measured as volume of water collected per unit area.

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 þ

Unit of Rainfall = = height.
 
3 3
= =
å 2
å= å 2
å=
= =

Consider a vessel of mouth area a, exposed to rainfall. If V is the volume of water

collected, then

Amount of Rainfall =V/A in cm

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A mug of mouth area 100cm2 is exposed to rainfall. If collected one liter of rain water
during a rainfall, calculate the amount of rainfall in that region

Rainfall = V/A = 1000/100 = 10cm

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The charge density in a metal is proportional to its curvature. Sharp points are more
curved and therefore at sharp points, charge density is minimum i.e. sharp points can
accommodate more charges.

Lightning is caused when a positively charged cloud collides with a negatively charged
cloud. This causes lightning and thunder. To avoid lightning affecting our buildings, we use
lightning arrestor, which is metal rod with sharp ends facing the sky. Lightning arrestor is
placed at the top of a tall building. This attracts the charged clouds and the charges are
grounded in the earth using thick conducting wire, like copper.
Lightning arrestors provide safety for the building and also for the neighboring area.
When there is no lightning arrestor as in a village, the tallest tree will attract the charges
from the clouds. For this reason one should avoid standing under a tree during lightning.

COSMIC SHOWERS:

Cosmic means outer space. Cosmic rays are those emerging from the outer space. The
electromagnetic radiation from the outer space interacts with the atmosphere of the
earth and charged particles are produced. These particles enter the earth as showers,
which are called cosmic shower.

The cosmic shower approaches earth from all directions. The cosmic shower enters the
North Pole (N) and South Pole (s) of the Earth.

Near the Equator the charged particles cannot enter as they will be deflected in circular
path (see fig)

The deflection of charged particles is due to earth·s magnetic field. This region is called
Van Allen belt. This belt provides protection for animals and plant life. In the north and
south poles, there is no such protection and so animals and plants are scarce in Polar
Regions.

COLIDGE TUBE;

Coolidge tube is an apparatus for producing X-rays.

PRINCIPLE:

When fast moving electrons hit a metal target-rays are liberated.

APPARATUS:

The figure shows a Coolidge tube. The filament emits electrons and they are accelerated
towards the positive potential. When the electrons hit the metal target-rays are
-10
generated. The wave length of X-ray is about 1 AU (one angstrom unit) (1 AU=10 m) the
wavelength depends on the applied high voltage. When the voltage is low, we get soft x-
rays. When the voltage is high, we get Hard X-rays. The hard X-ray is used for scientific
purpose and industrial applications. The soft X-rays for medical applications.

PROPERTIES OF X-RAYS:

1. It has velocity of light (3 x 108m/s)

2. It can penetrate human body. The extent of penetration is more for flesh and less for
bones.

3. It can affect photographic plates.

ULTRA SOUD SCAN

Ultra sound is a sound wave with frequency greater than 20KHz.The wavelength is about
1cm.The wavelength used in medical field depends on the size of the anatomical object. For
abdomen the wave length is about 1 cm.For eye the wave length is about 1mm.

PRODUCTION AND DETECTION;

The principle of production of ultra sound is Peiz0\o-electric effect.In crystals like

quartz, if the electric field is applied in one set of faces, mechanical vibration occur in
opposite set of faces. This is Peizo-electric effect.

Electronic weighing machine and electric gas lighter are based on reverse peizo-electric
effect. For detection of ultrasonic waves, the reverse process is used. The mechanical
vibrations produce electrical signal. The ultra sound probe contains both transmitter and
receiver of ultra sound. Each part of the human body absorbs ultra sound to different
extent. Therefore the reflected wave will also be different. Each anatomical structure has
a different reflection co-efficient. From the reflected waves electrical signals are
produced, which are amplified and displayed in screen, stored in a magnetic tape or in a
computer memory. The probe scans the required area of the human body, to get the image
of the anatomical structure. Ultra sound is much safer than X-ray, since it does not cause
any structural damage to the body.

CAT scan (Computer Aided Tomography)

Tomography provides cross sectional view of objects, namely of human body.

The figure shows the anatomical object like brain. The required cross section shown. The
source and detector are placed in a straight line passing through the required cross
section.

Due to absorption of ultra sonic waves by the anatomical structure, the wave will be
attenuated. This attenuation depends on the structure of the object. The detector
produces electrical signals which are converted to digital signals and stored in a computer
memory.Target the complete picture of the cross-section, the beam is rotated through
0
180 in steps of 1/20.

In each position, the digital data is stored in the computer. The image is reconstructed
using the computer data and displayed on the screen. The source can be either X-ray or
Ultra sound.

MRI SCAN (MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING)

This is based on nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of hydrogen nucleus. When H nucleus
is placed in a strong magnetic field oscillating at radio frequency, it absorbs energy
at a characteristic frequency, called resonance frequency of H.The human body
consists of CH molecules. In MRI, the presence of H is identified. Any foreign
particle such as calcium atones will have no resonance.Therefore, presence of such
unusual objects can be identified using MRI.The patient is placed inside a magnetic
field and scanned to identify unusual objects.