Researchers at the National Taiwan University Department of Geosciences have come up with a tool to predict earthquakes. In light of the horrendous shaker that just hit Italy, this should be big news. They claim it is more precise and cheaper than technology used in other parts of the world.
The kicker, however, is that the warning will come only 30 seconds before the quake hits. Their small metal tool contains a chip that allows it to pick up how fast the quake is moving and how big (magnitude) it will be. The problem is “How fast can you run?” Actually, the inventors think this brief warning window will give critical services time to prepare, by turning off the gas, or scurrying school children out of the building.
It took researchers five years to come up with their little device that should cost about $302, but they still don’t have a way to connect it to computerized alert systems. So it’s usefulness is yet to be determined.
Read more at Reuters