mystery quicksand

Sands of life are the most unique mechanism of the universe, he might be buried on the coast of the river or maybe even in the backyard around him, calmly waiting for people approaching, making it difficult forward or backward. In 1692, at the port of Jamaica, ever live sand that form from soil solution by the quake, the latter causing 1 / 3 the lost city, and the tragedy that killed 2,000 people. The lake looked calm in the south of England, a narrow fjord or bay in Alaska is beautiful but dangerous and other areas of human events ever happened trapped into living sand. However, most people often never see the sand of life, let alone witnessed a person stuck in the sand of life or experience it for yourself. Impression of the people against the sand of life based mainly on a variety of film seen. Created an atmosphere or scene in the film depicts life of sand is a scourge that can suck people into the bottomless pit.




Quicksand will dissolve if the surface disturbed
a scientist from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands namely Daniel Bonn ever meet a local shepherd. The pastor pointed to the sand live in Bonn, saying, that there was once mired in a camel and then disappeared never berbekas.lalu immediately after he conducted an investigation related to his country kembai. He brought samples of sand to the Netherlands and analyze its composition. Having found that the mixture consists of high-quality sand, clay, and salt water, Bonn and his team create artificial quicksand in large numbers.

He observed and carefully analyzed dozens of movies that depict views of the sand to swallow up human life, and found that the picture painted of these movies completely wrong and mistaken. Later, in his laboratory, Bonn mixing sand, clay and salt water, forming a sand model of living in a small room for examination. After repeated experiments, researchers led Bonn personnel found that it took several days to make the sand becomes sticky. Contrast is very easy if you want to eliminate the viscosity (viscosity), which is quite fitting given the pressure on its surface. The surface will be "dissolved" on the fly if you get a movement disorders, sand on the surface will become friable (soft), and sand in a shallow layer will also be dropped down quickly. This displacement movement to make objects move on the surface of the sand sink to the bottom, then along with the increasing depth of sinking, the sand falling down through the displacement movement of the top layer will slowly begin to converge, and will create a thick sediment, so that the viscosity or the nature glue the sand to grow rapidly, preventing further mired objects.


Need the power of lifting a car
According to the research, that people are stuck in the sands of life are generally unable to move, increasing the density of sand then glue on the lower limbs are mired in the sands of life, forming a very besas pressure on the body, making us very hard exertion. People who are very big strength is difficult even in a short time to remove victims trapped in the sands of life. Having calculated the researchers involved, that to remove a trapped victim's feet with a speed of 1 cm / sec just need a power of 100 thousand Newton, or approximately equivalent to the power of raising a medium-size car. Unless assisted by Derek cars, if not very difficult to remove victims trapped in the sands of life are within a short time. The results of related research also shows, according to a count of this power, if forcibly dragged the victim, then before the sands of life "letting go" of a trapped victim, the victim's body was broken attracted by the enormous power it. Risks resulting from such actions is far more dangerous than letting the victim remained alive in the sand for a while.

How to escape from the trap
Actually most of the sands of life are not much different from the sand in general, not creepy as depicted in the film. In principle, it is only sand that has been impregnated water, due to friction (friction) between the grains of sand is reduced, so that a mixture of sand and water semi-liquid that is difficult to support. Sands of life are usually found around the coast.

According to Benn, that there is only one state of the sand of human life can drown (drown), ie when the head first to get into, but probably stuck with a very small way. People who live mired in the sand just feel a little pressure on the chest, a bit difficult to breathe, would not life threatening. Tide on the sand near an enemy then a scary life for the victims trapped.

People misinterpret that by shaking the legs can loosen the sand around the body, and thus can help the limbs to get out of the sand. Related scientists said, the fact is not so, so will only accelerate the movement of sediment clay, strengthen the viscosity (viscosity) of sand of life, struggling blindly will only make the victims mired deeper.

Benn said, "how to escape from the sand of life remain, namely that the victim should move slowly trapped her legs, so that water and sand as much as seeping into the hollow area, so will be able to reduce the pressure loss of the victim, and make the sand that slowly menggembur-land. In addition, the victim must also try to separate limbs, because if the surface area of ​​sand untouched the larger body, the buoyancy obtained will be even greater. Provided that the victim had patience enough, with enough movements calm and relaxed, then slowly certainly will be free from sand traps of life.

In addition the research also found that, when an object is stuck in the sand of life, the speed setting is determined by the density of the object. Density of live sand is generally 2 g / milliliter, while the human density is 1g/milliliter. Under this density, the human body is immersed into the sand of life will not drown, will often stop to the waist.

In addition the researchers also found that although a number of objects greater density than the sand of life, but still able to float on the sand of life. In a related experiment, they then put a ball of aluminum on the surface density 2.7g/mililiter quicksand. And even though its density is greater than the sand of life. But it gets the influence of buoyancy quicksand and sand voltage, then the aluminum ball can remain calmly on the surface of live sand. The ball did not sink until the researchers shook the quicksand and made a motion that causes the mixture more fluid. When doing this, an aluminum ball actually entirely submerged.

However, when using a ball of aluminum has a density similar to human beings, which means lower than the density of quicksand, the ball did not sink even if the mixture is treated roughly. The fall of the object into quicksand pastikel sand mixed with water causing loss of stability. If it continues to be the pressure, the mixture will turn into more liquid on the surface and very solid at the bottom. "The greater the pressure, the more fluid that forms in the quicksand so that movement of the victim makes it sink deeper and deeper," said Daniel Bonn, lead investigator from the University of Amsterdam, as written in the 29 September issue of Nature.

Based on measurements of aluminum equipment, enhance physical pressure to the particle a 1 percent led to the sinking speed up a million times. Bonn adding that pulling items out of the sand at this stage requires equal power lifting medium-sized car.

Patience and calm
"The most dangerous is when the sand suction tends to draw quickly," he said. But patience can save you. If you wait patiently, sand particles will eventually stabilized so that the buoyancy of the mixture will lift you up.

We know that a layer of sand beneath it more tightly, while more water in the upper layer. Very dense sand layer below contain very little water so hard off the foot of the fall into it, "said Bonn. His advice, stay calm and you'll usually float. Straighten your back to expand the area that is free and wait until the feet are free of sand. Bonn is also suggested that the foot moves to control the water so you float. "You have to put water into the sand and the easiest way is twirled around the foot in quicksand," he added.
The recommendation is likely true. The proof, aluminum ball second in this experiment did not sink more than half. Although the ball just four millimeters in diameter, the density is similar to humans so that it can be used as a human model.