Photo de stock - Dec. 12, 1978 - General Electric scientists have found evidence that the earth is a planet that 'breathes' - sporadically 'exhaling' scattered puffs of gas at certain points on its surface. If GE's findings are confirmed by additional experiments, they may provide new clues about geological conditions hundreds of feet underground. Dr. Antonio Mogro-Campero, Dr. Robert L. Fleischer, and Richard S. Likes (r to l) of the General Electric Research and Development Center, Schenectady, N.Y., have focused their studies on the movements of radon, a gas released by the decay of uranium (an element widely distributed throughout the earth's crust). A possible application of this research - which is still in its basic stage - is in earthquake prediction. At a site in New York State that experience many small earthquakes annually, the GE researchers have observed upsurges of radon levels at the times of the largest earthquakes or groups of earthquakes. At left are stacks of special plastic radon detector cups made by Terradex Corp. That are employed in the research. Dr. Fleischer holds another type of detector, part of an electronic monitoring device that continuously measures radon concentrations as well as records local atmospheric conditions at test sites. (Credit Image: © Keystone Press Agency/Keystone USA via ZUMAPRESS.com)