Case Study 4: Geophysics

Summary
Geophysics is the study of Earth (focuses on Earths structure), the entire environment in it using physics to explain natural phenomena such as heat flows, radioactivity, electromagnetic waves as well as electricity. Using Geophysics can be very beneficial to societys needs for example environmental protection. Many instruments are used to study the Earth such as metal detectors for exploring archaeological areas using induced electrical fields. The sources I used to find the information about metal detectors and resistivity are from a website called wikipedia. Another source is a physics review magazine given to us by our science teacher containing information about relevant physics principles on resistivity. And last source of information I checked is my own book of physics AS Physics containing a chapter with information about resistivity and metals in circuits.

Metal detectors
A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent. The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field. If a piece of electrically conductive metal is close to the coil, eddy currents will be induced in the metal, and this produces an alternating magnetic field of its own. If another coil is used to measure the magnetic field (acting as a magnetometer), the change in the magnetic field due to the metallic object can be detected. The first industrial metal detectors were developed in the 1960s and were used extensively for mining and other industrial applications. Uses include de-mining (the detection of land mines), the detection of weapons such as knives and guns, especially in airport security, geophysical prospecting, archaeology and treasure hunting. Metal detectors are also used to detect foreign bodies in food, and in the construction industry to detect steel reinforcing bars in concrete and pipes and wires buried in walls and floors.

Measuring resistivity of metallic material (Physics Principles)

To measure resistivity of metal, firstly you will need to place it in a circuit with a power supply in which you can control the amount of voltage. Then the formula is given by R= l/A where l=length of the object and A= cross sectional area of object. The greek letter indicates the resistivity of the object whilst R determines the resistance of the metallic object. In this picture it is shown how length and cross sectional area are measured.

Vassilios Pantziaros