Mine-clearance
Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By contrast, the goal of ''humanitarian demining'' is to remove all of the landmines to a given depth and make the land safe for human use. Specially trained dogs are also used to narrow down the search and verify that an area is cleared. Mechanical devices such as flails and excavators are sometimes used to clear mines. A great variety of methods for detecting landmines have been studied. These include electromagnetic methods, one of which (ground penetrating radar) has been employed in tandem with metal detectors. Acoustic methods can sense the cavity created by mine casings. Sensors have been developed to detect vapor leaking from landmines. Animals such as rats and mongooses can safely move over a minefield and detect mines, and animals can als ...
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2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt, killing all 148 aboard, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history at the time. * January 4 – NASA's MER-A (Spirit) spacecraft lands on the surface of Mars. * January 6 - Construction on the tallest man-made structure to date, the Burj Khalifa begins in Dubai UAE * January 8 – The RMS ''Queen Mary 2'', at the time the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by its namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. * January 25 – NASA's MER-B (Opportunity) spacecraft lands on the surface of Mars. February * February 4 – Mark Zuckerberg launches The Facebook, later renamed to Facebook, a social networking website for Harvard Unive ...
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