Fresh Research From IIT May Help Green Deserts, Make Better Batteries

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras in Chennai have now provided clues on how minerals and small rock particles get broken into nano particles

Soil is ubiquitous. It is seen everywhere and life on earth depends on it. But how is soil formed? Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras in Chennai have now provided clues on how minerals and small rock particles get broken into nano particles, which is what soil is.

Soil is formed by the weathering of rocks as they roll in streams and rivers -- a very long process requiring hundreds of years. It is friction at the river-bed or ocean-bed that breaks the rocks down. But not to the extent of nano-particles. They are formed purely by chemical reaction, researchers from IIT-Madras have found.

The work of Prof Thalappil Pradeep and his team of six researchers has been published in the highly regarded American journal "Science". The institution proudly asserted this is its first research paper to be published in "Science". The 144-year-old magazine is published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where some of the best research gets published.