Assessing the quality of pipe borne water using Magnetic Susceptibility Measurements
Magnetic susceptibility measurements and chemical analysis were performed on samples of water taken from the academic and residential areas of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) campus, Kumasi. The aim of these measurements was to see if water delivered through metallic pipes was clean. Magnetic susceptibility measurements were performed using the Bartington MS2 magnetic susceptibility meter, with MS2G single frequency sensor and the chemical analysis was performed with the Varian SpectrAA 220FS Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. Results of the measurements showed that the water samples had negative magnetic susceptibility (χ) values of the order of 10 –5 and were thus diamagnetic. The χ values obtained for the samples were between –1.3  10 -6 SI and –1.23  10 -5 SI for the Academic Area (sampled colleges) and –3.0  10 -7 SI and –8.7 10 -6 SI for the Residential Area (sampled Halls of residence). Chemical analysis of the samples showed variation in the concentrations of iron and zinc. Regression analysis of their concentrations with their χ values revealed zinc to have a strong inverse relationship with a correlation coefficient of 73%. Although the study showed some level of metallic contamination in the water samples of average concentration of 0.03mg/l, these were well below the concentration of 3mg/l which is of detrimental concern as outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). This makes drinking water from the study area safe for drinking.
A preliminary attempt to identify atmospherically-derived pollution particles in English topsoils from magnetic susceptibility measurements
This study identifies topsoils in England having increased magnetic susceptibility (xlf) values attributable to the presence of anthropogenically produced pollution particles, such as fly-ash. The database consists of 1176 topsoils taken at 10 km intervals across the whole of England, and tested for magnetic susceptibility at low and high frequencies. Soils containing significant concentrations of pollution particles were identified using two criteria; xlf (values > 0.38 10−6m3kg−1) and xfd% (values < 3%). The ‘polluted’ topsoils are located in the south-east around London, the Midlands, the north around the conurbations of Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire, and in the north-east around Newcastle and Teeside. The heavy metal concentration of the soils are elevated above background levels, and have strong positive relationships with magnetic susceptibility and other magnetic parameters.
Integrating Al with NiO nano honeycomb to realize an energetic material on silicon substrate
Nano energetic materials offer improved performance in energy release, ignition, and mechanical properties compared to their bulk or micro counterparts. In this study, the authors propose an approach to synthesize an Al/NiO based nano energetic material which is fully compatible with a microsystem. A two-dimensional NiO nano honeycomb is first realized by thermal oxidation of a Ni thin film deposited onto a silicon substrate by thermal evaporation. Then the NiO nano honeycomb is integrated with an Al that is deposited by thermal evaporation to realize an Al/NiO based nano energetic material. This approach has several advantages over previous investigations, such as lower ignition temperature, enhanced interfacial contact area, reduced impurities and Al oxidation, tailored dimensions, and easier integration into a microsystem to realize functional devices. The synthesized Al/NiO based nano energetic material is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry.