The Physics of Quicksand

[dhruv227]

FOR THE COMPLETE ARTICLE CLICK HERE


Next time you're traipsing around in a wet, sandy, unfamiliar area, you had best be on your guard for the exotic material known as quicksand. If you're not careful, you could lose your life. Or much more likely, a shoe.

Quicksand is one of the staple environmental hazards in cartoonish low-budget movies, where it has been known to quickly swallow unwitting persons as they wander through jungles and deserts. It is usually represented as a deep pool of sandy goo which blends in with its surroundings, lying in wait to slowly suck in anyone who

 

[ipodtouchforum]

Pretty interesting stuff.

 

[dhruv227]

check out the delhi online forums regularly, i keep adding regular interesting stuff there.

 

[Steeevoe]

Keep up with these interesting snippets !

 

[zen-r]

dhruv227, if you're going to copy verbatim someone else's article, shouldn't you state the original source/ author? Otherwise it looks like you are trying to pass this work off as your own ;

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=320

Ignoring this misdemeanour (if I can) I have a couple of thoughts on this interesting subject.

Firstly, there is one very real danger not mentioned in the article. Many people have become stuck in quicksand or mud-flats around beaches or tidal estuaries etc, & then the tide has come in & they have drowned. Here is one such story (with a happy ending in this case ) ;

Pensioner pulled from quicksand

I have heard of cases in the UK where even a team of rescuers around a stuck person haven't been able to free them in time - the suction effect around their body has been that great.

Also, the nature of quicksand reminds me of the weird properties of cornflour (cornstarch). When mixed with water, it forms a dilatant. If you stand still on a pool of this mixture, you would sink into it - it is soft & "flows". But you can also run quickly across the surface of it, or hit it with a hammer - the greater the force, the harder/ more viscous it becomes!

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[dhruv227]

hi zenr,
this article was forwarded to me by a physics teacher, so i don't know the article's source.

 

[zen-r]

5 seconds using google http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=320

 

[dhruv227]

ok then, ny wayz it's in the forum anyway, if it had been in the main site i would have added the source.

 

[Steeevoe]

Putting unkown source tells people its not made by you, so that would help.

(You can always put posted by you after it)


Zen-r! Did you watch Brainiac? It's been a while since I have seen it but in one episode they where running across custard as it has the same properties as your corn flour!

 

[zen-r]

Hehe.

No I didn't see that one, but I noticed something similar the other day on The Gadget Show. Gail Porter managed a quick dash across the surface - though I'd rather have seen her get a dunking!