» Predicting Earthquakes using 'Rock Batteries' - Dr. Minoru Freund, a researcher at NASA's Ames Research Center, has discovered a curious and important possible determinant for predicting earthquakes. Apparently when rocks are subjected to stress from tectonic activity, they become charged and act as "batteries" which then affect their surroundings up into the ionosphere. These disturbances could be picked up by satellites and used to better forecast seismic activity.