Smart phones for Earthquake Tracking?

Scientists have always been way behind the earthquakes when it comes to tracking them, and sometime way off. But a new idea has sprung up that is definitely worth some thought and some serious credit. The Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America have been trying to find a way to track earthquakes in real-time for decades, but the idea just recently hit them to us something that is in most people's pockets already. That's right, smart phones! The piece that actually tells whether the phone is on a side or upright is the only piece really needed. That one piece is called the accelerometer, and it is sensitive enough to detect earthquakes of magnitude five or higher.

Then the issue comes up of whether or not people would allow the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America access to their devices. Would you allow these scientists access to your smart phone for a good cause, or is it going a little too far? We'd love to hear your feedback and hear whether or not you support this endeavor from the scientific community. So if you want to find out more about what smart phones can do, come see us in-store or call us!