The earthquake arrives...

1996/04/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Geologia

Finally, explanations have been found about the reddish lights seen before the earthquake. They can also be known in the oldest terrestrial chronicles. According to witnesses, these glows appear a few minutes before the Earth begins to vibrate and the horizon takes a red and blue color. These apparitions usually last a few minutes and, without missing, the earthquake of the earth occurs.

According to the working group of the Hiroshima Research Center, these phenomena that predict earthquakes have to do with stones that fragment violent movements. More specifically, with oxygenated compounds of silicon or silica. According to this theory, the agitation of the earth produces a break of many materials, among which is silica. When this occurs, they have observed that silica emits light due to the phenomenon called fractoluminescence.

In the Hiroshima research center, many months have been devoted to analyzing the characteristics of silica, since the researchers considered that it can have a great use in the fiber optic industry and, while working in the field of optics, they observed the process that. They came unexpectedly to clarify the origin of those lights announcing earthquakes.