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

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.