Draft in February, 2002, last update on July 29, 2004

Dear international colleagues:

I worked in underground and open-pit mines and have done research in mining induced seismicity, earthquakes and mining by mechanical liquefaction. I now live in San Rafael, California and work as a computer software developer. I see that earthquake engineering, rockburst engineering, blast engineering and mining engineering are related in terms of rock science and technology. I hereby propose an international research project for Rock Science and Technology in these disciplines.

Ancient Chinese discovered the unification of sound, particles and wave in the context that sound, traveling particles and light were the essential matters for life (see MaiYuan (Pulsehead) Yi Poem of Good as well as other relevant article on my web site www.pulsehead.org). The unified theory of light in the 20th century confirmed this discovery. This author does not know whether or not there exists a unified theory for sound waves, stress waves and light waves. We all know that in a lightning, the light hits our eyes before the thunder hits our ears. I would suggest that in an earthquake, certain particles such as subatomic matter, and/or waves such as electro-magnetic waves from the earthquake center arrive at a certain location before or after the seismic waves arrive. Today, only the seismic waves (i.e., sound) are measured for analysis.

Particles and/or waves arriving prior to the seismic waves would provide advance warning for earthquake damages. Such advance warning would alert disaster fighting personnel such as fire fighters, police, medical aid, and power emergency shut-off guards. It would also alert ordinary people to step out of the house and building or take cover. Advance warning would also alert scientists to turn on their instrumentation for research and measurements. Splitting of seismic waves into different frequencies, as for light, may result in better structural designs against seismic waves or their beneficial uses.

Future discoveries of earthquake mechanisms in the subatomic and light-speed wave aspects would also help unlock the mystery of the evolution of the Earth and other planets.

There was a 5.2 Richter Scale (4.9 Moment Magnitude) earthquake epicentered in Gilroy, California on May 13, 2002 at 10:00 PM (pacific time). It was located at 7.6 km (4.8 mi) depth and about 130 km (80 mi) from where I live in San Rafael. I live on the second floor in a three storey all-wood apartment building on the slope of the San Rafael hill. The shake lasted for a few seconds and it appeared as North-South swing movement and the large front glass window facing West generated noise. I thought it was due to heavy wind at the time, but, television immediately reported the earthquake. My neighbor beneath my apartment on the first floor described it as side to side motions in contrast to the usual up and down motions in previous earthquakes. Her apartment is above an open basement which is supported by wooden walls on three sides, concrete on one side, and square wooden logs in the middle. Please visit website http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ for official information about the earthquake. (a copy is placed here )

I used the Planet Finder software by JPL of California to study the weather in San Rafael, California in the year 2004. I found the weather and the ocean tide in terms of cloud, wind and rain are greatly influenced by the relative positions of the Sun, Moon and planets. Details are presented in a separate article. The following picture of the sky on the day of the above earthquake demonstrates that the occurrence of the Gilroy earthquake was connected to the clustering of the Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Mercury and Jupiter.

I worked at the Hemlo Gold Mining Camp, Ontario, Canada between 1996 and 1999. Underground and surface blasting caused high frequency vibrations of the concrete-steel office building. The large glass windows generated high frequency noise. Rockbursts in underground mines may cause damage to access drifts and underground facilities. They are usually less than 4 in magnitude. In many cases, rockburst centers can be predicted in advance by stress modelling and they can be accessed and examined by humans.

For small scale underground mining In China, localized liquefaction of loose ores are achieved by mechanical vibration in order to draw ores into open access drifts.

Open pit and underground mines are often found in isolated and remote areas. They have much less environmental impact on the general public. An underground mine is often a self contained system, it tends to be dark, humid, narrow, short of air and water. It may have steep and winding slopes and sharp turning points. Due to these special characteristics, certain mines may be used as research and development sites in all disciplines. Product test period can be shortened. Developed and tested in mines, the products may then be used in urban and important areas in civil and defense projects. Examples are: communication, transportation, construction, electrical and electronic machinery and devices; structural and renovation materials; environmental impact, ecosystem, production system studies; safety and injury prevention studies.

I hope I have demonstrated the practical values of the proposed international research project. If you are interested in participating, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours truly,

Dr. Yi Xiaoping, P.Eng.(Ontario), EIT(California)
Drafted in San Rafael, California, and updated in Changsha, China.
Emails: yi_xiaoping@hotmail.com or yi_xiaoping@yahoo.com