Electrical Properties of Soil

Soil is the world's most largely available resource; unless you are in the middle of the ocean, you always have access to the earth's soil. When most people think of soil, they think of tilling, farming and something that can be made into a foundation for construction. Most people forget that soil has electrical properties; these conductive properties are put to practical use in industrial plants and manufacturing.

What Is Surface Resistivity?

To put it simply, the term “earth resistance” describes how easily soil passes current. When compared to other conductors like copper or steel, the earth is a bad conductor of electricity. But, there are some application where the earth's conductivity is good enough. If an area is large enough to create a path for current, then the earth can be used as a conductor. When used properly, the earth's soil becomes an indispensable part of electrical systems. Soil is cheap and abundant; this makes is a wise choice when materials cost too much money.

When soil is measured for resistivity, the readings can be used to find the effectiveness of ground grids; these grids are used in conjunction with electrical systems to protect workers and the equipment they use.

Resistivity is also used in prospecting; people can use the measurements to find different resistance values. The values can be useful in determining what types of materials are below the soil; it's an easy way to find specific information about what lies below the earth's surface. Visit AGIUSA.com today to find out more about how you can use resistivity to find soil composition.

Resistivity For Large Ground Systems

Large ground systems can be found in many industrial buildings; these systems are an essential safety mechanism that protects the electrical supply network. Ground systems make sure that all protective devices work when there is a swell in ground current.

Substations only work when the soil that they are built on has a low ground resistance; this reduces excessive voltages that develop during a fault. When a ground system is installed, it is necessary to measure the resistivity of the surrounding soil.

Inaccurate tests can lead to damage and large repair costs. Soil resistivity can change; therefore, it is important to regularly schedule tests. Corrosion or changes in resistivity can lead faults in a grounding system. The best way to check the soil is to use a resistivity meter; portable meters give people accurate readings that show resistivity through many layers of soil.

Some shocking news about wireless electricity

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers said Thursday they have developed a wireless energy transfer technology that could ensure wireless devices are always charged up and ready to go.

The team at MIT, one of the top US academic "laboratories" for new inventions, has road tested the fledgling technology and shown that it can power a 60 watt bulb from a power source two meters away.

That's more than enough juice to supply an average laptop, said Marin Soljacic, a professor of physics at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who has been working on this project for several years.

The concept behind the technology is simple and based on the idea that two resonant objects on the same resonance frequency can exchange energy efficiently.

For this experiment, the MIT team used electromagnetic resonators in the form of copper coils, which oscillated at a certain frequency, trading energy within a given electromagnetic field. One of the coils was attached to a power source. The other acted as a receiver.

The researchers, having proved that the technology dubbed "WiTricity" does work, plan to refine it to make it more efficient, although the range over which wireless power can be delivered probably won't extend beyond a room or a factory floor.

However, they are confident they can enhance the system and make it reliable enough so that consumers can dispense with power cords and even batteries for their laptops, PDAs, Blackberries or cellphones if they are being used in the same room as the power source.

"This is a major milestone," said Soljacic, commenting on the experiment, the details of which appear in the journal Science. "The technology is almost at the point where it could be used for a practical application."