earthquake

Japanese quake shortened day just a smidgen

Friday's magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan was big enough to shorten the length of Earth's day by 1.8 millionths of a second, a NASA scientist has calculated.

Richard Gross of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory projected the change based on calculations of how the distribution of Earth's mass changed. Moving mass toward the north or south poles, and thus closer to Earth's axis of rotation, can make the planet spin faster in much the same way an ice skater can spin faster by bringing arms and legs closer toward the body.

Gross also calculated … Read more

Earthquake likely to affect LCD, memory prices

Beyond the devastating loss of life and property, the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last week are likely to shorten the supply and increase prices of key electronic components, according to a report released yesterday by IHS iSuppli.

Most of the factories for the major electronics makers managed to escape severe damage as they were located far enough away from the epicenter of the quake and the areas affected by the tsunami.

However, the disaster has severely affected the country's transportation and power grids, leading to problems shipping and receiving parts, getting people to work, and maintaining production.… Read more

Ripple effect of Japan disasters on consumer electronics (podcast)

While most Japanese wafer fabrication plants ("fabs") are located in the southern part of the country, hundreds of miles from the epicenter, at least one manufacturer is still shut down after last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami, according to Jim Handy, an analyst with semiconductor market research firm Objective Analysis. Some Japanese technology companies have curtailed operations.

But even plants in other parts of the country can be affected by rattling and, of course power glitches. "These are very sensitive plants because they are using extremely advanced optics to lay down lines as small as 25 … Read more

Japan issues radiation warning after 3rd explosion

In a dramatic escalation of Japan's nuclear crisis, officials warned of elevated radiation levels after another explosion and reactor fire rocked the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, the third explosion in four days.

In a nationally televised statement reported by the Associated Press and other news agencies, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said radiation has spread from four reactors at the plant.

"The level seems very high, and there is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out," Kan said. "We are making every effort to prevent the leak from spreading. I know … Read more

Japan crisis challenges nuclear around the world

Even as the world tensely monitors Japan's nuclear crisis, it's clear that nuclear power will face harsher public scrutiny and a re-evaluation of nuclear's expansion.

Last week's powerful earthquake and tsunami shut down the Fukushima Daiichi power plant and crippled the cooling systems at three reactors. According to reports, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company said that one of the cores, No. 2, has been temporarily exposed to air, risking a meltdown of the nuclear fuel or metal cladding around the fuel rods.

As Japanese officials deal with multiple crises from one of the five largest earthquakes … Read more

After contamination, U.S. naval fleet repositions

U.S. Navy officials in Japan announced early today that they have repositioned their 7th Fleet after 17 Navy personnel aboard three helicopters tested positive for low levels of contamination from a radioactive plume that rose above the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group were roughly 100 miles northeast of the plant at the time of the explosion, but three helicopters had flown closer to help with relief efforts, reported the fleet's public affairs office.

Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Jeff A. Davis told The New York Times that the levels of … Read more

Rescue robots deployed in Japan earthquake ops

Rescue robots are making their way to parts of Japan affected by the massive earthquake and tsunamis that devastated coastal areas Friday and in the days following, leaving nearly 6,000 people dead or missing.

A team from Tohoku University led by Satoshi Tadokoro is apparently en route to Sendai with a snakelike robot that can wriggle into debris to hunt for people.

The Active Scope Camera, seen in the 2008 vid below, is a 26-foot long fiberscope covered with a special servomotor system. It has hair-like structures that vibrate to move it forward at a top speed of 2.7 inches per second.

The Scope was used in the collapse of the Berkman Plaza parking garage in Jacksonville, Florida in 2007, penetrating 23 feet into the rubble and relaying images to rescuers.

Tadokoro and Japanese colleagues were apparently in Texas for a workshop when the quake struck Japan, but immediately returned to their country on hearing the news.

Fellow researcher Eiji Koyanagi of the Chiba Institute of Technology's Future Robotics Technology Center, meanwhile, is gearing up to deploy a robot called Quince that can probe hazardous sites after a disaster.

Quince rolls on treads and can sense chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear dangers in areas that firefighters can't reach. It has an onboard camera and can move about 5.2 feet per second. … Read more

Plutonium threat at Japan reactor, expert warns

The fuel used in the Japanese nuclear reactor where an explosion occurred today is more volatile and toxic than the fuel used in the other reactors there, a Japanese nuclear expert warned.

At a press conference in Tokyo, Masashi Goto, who worked for Toshiba as a reactor researcher and designer, said the mixed oxide (MOX) fuel used in unit 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant contains plutonium, which is much more toxic than the fuel used in the other reactors.

MOX fuel is a mixture of uranium and plutonium reprocessed from spent uranium, and is sometimes involved in the … Read more

Tech firms face outages after Japan quake, tsunami

Panasonic is among the tech companies in Japan that have put some operations on hold following the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the country on Friday.

Panasonic announced this morning that employees in its digital camera, electronic materials, and washer and dryer plants sustained "minor injuries" following the earthquake. In addition, the earthquake has caused the company to stop operation in one of its factories, though it did not say which factory was closed. It said that it will "evaluate further details of the damage" to see how long it will be suspending its operation.… Read more