Plating is a surface is covered with a thin layer of metal, being usually a conductive surface. This has been used for hundreds of years and is still used nowadays. It is used for decorating objects, for corrosion inhibition to reduce friction or improve weareability and for other industrial purposes. Plating is also used for jewelry finishing.

Electroplating is the main method used for plating. The process consists in moving the metal ions from a solution by an electric field to coat an electrode, using electrical current. The process uses a cathode (the part to be plated) and an anode (the metal to be plated on the part). The anode and cathode are both connected to an external supply of direct current. The anode is connected to the positive terminal of the supply, and the cathode (article to be plated) is connected to the negative terminal. When the external power supply is switched on, the metal at the anode migrates to cathode.

The metal used as an anode, can be different types, from precious metals to very common ones:

-          Copper – a very difficult metal to be plated, due to the fact that leaves imperfections to the plated surface;

-          Silver plating – used in jewelry industry for plating cooper  and for applications in electronics;

-          Gold plating – used in jewelry industry for plating mostly cooper and silver;

-          Rhodium plating – used in jewelry industry for plating white gold, silver or copper and its alloys;

Zinc plating – used to protect the metal from oxidation.

Seismograph or seismometer is called the sensitive instrument which detects the seismic waves generate by earthquakes.

Basic principles of seismographs working are quite simple:

-          A weight, which is also known as “internal mass” , can move relative to the instrument frame and it is attached to the system

-          A recording system of the movements of the frame.

The recording system used in the seismographs is usually optical levers or mechanical linkages to amplify the small motions of the earth, recording them on soot-covered paper or photographic paper. The most ultimate machines use electronic devices equipped with electronic sensors or amplifiers.

The most common recorder is a computer with an analog-to-digital converter, a disk drive and an internet connection. Most systems record continuously, but some record only when a signal is detected, as shown by a short-term increase in the variation of the signal, compared to its long-term average (which can vary slowly because of changes in seismic noise).

Seismographs can’t be placed everywhere. The foundation is the most important and all professional seismographs are mounted on bedrock or boreholes the last one being considered the best mounting due to the fact that this avoids thermal effects, ground noises or tides of the weather.

When we refer to a seismograph, we must also talk about Intensity and Magnitude Scales.

-          Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake.

-          Intensity measures the strength of shaking produced by the earthquake at a certain location.

Magnitude Scale was measured by Charles Richter, a seismologist at the Institute of Technology from California, in 1935 and he developed what we call now Richter Magnitude Scale. On his scale the magnitude is expressed in whole numbers and decimal fractions.

The intensity was measured for the first time by Michele de Rossi from Italy (1874) and Francois Forel from Switzerland (1881), who both independently published similar intensity scales. They both joined their works afterwards and produced the Rossi-Forel Scale in 1883. During the time, a lot of studies about scales of intensity were published; the only one used currently within US is Mercalli Intensity Scale, developed in 1931 by Harry Wood and Frank Neumann, an American seismologists. On Mercalli  scale are 12 increasing levels of intensity of the earthquakes.

Antifreeze proteins or also known as Ice structuring proteins are referring to a class of substances, called polypeptides, which are produced by certain plants and bacteria. This polypeptides permit to plants and bacteria to survive in sub-zero environments.

Antifreeze proteins bind ice crystals and inhibit recrystallization of ice. This ability of some insects, fish and sea plants is useful for sea life in the cold areas of the globe.

Bacteria are a generic name for a large part of microorganisms. Depending on their type, batteria may have a variety of forms and a wide range of shapes.

Bacteria are present in most of the habitats of the earth, from the soil from live bodies of animals and plants.

The scientists discovered over 40 million of bacterial cells in a gram of soil and over 1 million in a milliliter of fresh water and in the human body there are approximately over 10 times more bacteria than human cells. The vast majority of the bacteria in the body are rendered harmless by the protective effects of the immune system, and a few are beneficial. However, a few species of bacteria cause infectious diseases. The most common fatal bacterial diseases are respiratory infections, with tuberculosis alone killing about 2 million people a year.

In the biological communities bacteria provide the nutrients needed to sustain life by converting dissolved compounds such as hydrogen sulphide and methane.

Most bacteria have a single circular chromosome and as asexual organisms, inherit identical copies of their parent’s genes. Some bacteria also transfer genetic material between cells. Despite their apparent simplicity, bacteria can form complex associations with other organisms. These associations can be divided into:

-          Parasitism – the parasite, benefits at the expense of the host;

-          Mutualism – both parasite and the host benefit from each other;

-          Commensalism – either parasite or host benefits, but the other is neutral- there is no harm or benefit.

Due to their small size, common bacteria grow on animals and plants exactly as they will grow on any other surface. However, their growth can be increased by environment (as warmth and sweat.

Some bacteria are used in food industry and the most common is “lactic acid bacteria”, which is used in the preparation of fermented food, such as cheese, pickles, wine or yoghurt.

We call Nuclear Energy the energy which is created in a nuclear reaction, which represent the changes that nay occur in the structure of the nuclei of the atoms.

Nuclear Energy can be produced both naturally and artificially within specialized plants, under human control:

-          Naturally nuclear energy takes place mostly in space. For example, the Sun heats the Earth by nuclear reactions;

-          Artificial nuclear energy is produced under the strictly supervision of humans, in specialized nuclear power plants, in specialized machines, which are called nuclear reactors. Any human negligence may occur within the process, the explosion can be catastrophic.

Nuclear energy can be produced in 2 different ways:

-          Nuclear Fission: nuclei of atoms are split, causing energy to be released. Uranium is the main fuel used for nuclear fission to produce energy since it has many favorable properties. Uranium nuclei can be easily split by shooting neutrons at them. Also, once a uranium nucleus is split, multiple neutrons are released which are used to split other uranium nuclei. This phenomenon is known as a chain reaction. Fission releases energy that can be used to make steam, which is used in a turbine to generate electricity.

-          Nuclear Fusion: nuclei of atoms are joined together and usually this happens only under very hot conditions. The atomic bomb, the humanity’s most powerful and destructive weapon, also works by fusion.

Despite of the dangerous field, Nuclear energy is mostly used to produce energy. This is a huge realization, due to the fact that Earth has limited supplies of coal and oil, which is the most common way to obtain energy. Also, nuclear energy is less pollute than Coal burning plants. According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), approximately 19% of the United States’ electricity is produced through nuclear energy.

One of the disadvantages of using nuclear energy is that following chemical reactions, radioactive waste is left behind. Every 18 to 24 months, nuclear power plants must shut down to remove and replace the “spent” uranium fuel. This spent fuel has released most of its energy as a result of the fission process and has become radioactive waste. Used in the wrong ways, the radioactive waste can be dangerous for environment and can pollute it.

The atom is the basic unit of matter, which consists in a dense central nucleus, surrounded by electrons negatively charged. The central nucleus contains a mix of protons positively charged and neutral neutrons.

An atom can be:

-          Electrically neutral – has an equal number of protons and electrons;

-          Positive electrical charge – has less electrons than protons (it is also known as “electron deficiency”)

-          Negative electrical charge – has less protons than electrons (it is also known as “electron excess”).

The atom which is positively or negatively charged is known as ion.

A group of atoms, which are bound together, form a molecule.

An atom is classified according to the number of protons and neutrons in its nucleus:

-          The number of protons determines the chemical element;

-          The number of neutrons determines the isotope of the element.

Atoms are minuscule objects with proportionately tiny masses and can be observed just with special instruments. Most of the mass of an atom is concentrate in the nucleus.

Atoms of the same element have the same number of protons, called the atomic number. Within a single element, the number of neutrons may vary, determining the isotope of that element.

The number of protons and neutrons in the atomic nucleus can be modified by nuclear fission, causing a nucleus to split into two smaller nuclei.

The electrons in an atom are attracted to the protons in the nucleus by the electromagnetic force.

Coal, as we all might know it, is used in the Energy Department, as is mostly used as a combustible. It can be found underground as a sedimentary rock in different layers. Depending on the layer and the age of the deposit, the coal is formed from dead plants which are converted into peat, then in lignite and anthracite. It takes a very long period of time for a peat to develop into anthracite and involves both biological and geological processes.

Regardless the layer may be found in coal is composed from two main substances: carbon and hydrogen. Among these, coal may contain smaller quantities of nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen.

Since its discovery during the history, coal had many uses. It was first used as a fossil fuel for the production of heat and electricity; then it was a resource for industrial fields, such as refining metals.

With the advancement of technology, coal had been processed and exploited within coal mines, which had the main goal to obtain a large quantity of lignite or anthracite for both industrial and energy purposes.

The main types of coal.

-          Peat, is considered the very first type of coal and is used mainly within industrial fields. Peat is considered to be highly effective as an absorbent for oil spills on both land and waters.

-          Lignite, or mostly known as a “brown coal”, is the considered the lowest quality of the coal. It is mainly used as a fuel to generate electric power.

-          Bituminous coal is used also as a fuel in electric-power generation. In early ’60-‘70s it was also used for water heating.

-          Anthracite is the most qualitative rank of coal and it is mostly used for residential and commercial space heating

-          On the top of the types of coal, la crème-de-la crème is considered the Graphite. It is the most difficult to obtain, and it is mostly used in pencils and, when powdered, as a lubricant.

Underground coal gasification

Underground coal gasification is an industrial process, which converts the coal into gas. The conversion process takes place in non-mined coal seams, using injection of different oxidants. The main purpose of oxidants is to bring the final product resulted from the chemical reaction to surface, which is the gas. This gas is very important and is mostly used as a fuel to generate power, or a chemical feedstock.