Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel consisting of fine granular matter (such as sand or silt), clay, and salt water. A colloid is a type of mechanical Mixture where one substance is dispersed evenly throughout another A gel (from the lat gelu &mdashfreezing cold ice or gelatus &mdashfrozen immobile is an apparently solid jelly-like material formed from a A granular material is a conglomeration of discrete Solid, macroscopic particles characterized by a loss of energy whenever the particles interact (the most common example would Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles Silt is Soil or rock derived Granular material of a Grain size between sand and clay Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained Minerals which show plasticity through a variable range of Water content, and Brine (lat saltus) is Water saturated or nearly saturated with Salt (NaCl In the name, as in that of quicksilver (mercury), "quick" does not mean "fast," but "alive" (cf. Mercury (ˈmɜrkjʊri also called quicksilver or hydrargyrum, is a Chemical element with the symbol Hg ( Latinized hydrargyrum the expression the quick and the dead).
Water circulation underground can focus in an area with just the right mixture of fine sands and other materials such as clay. The water moves up and then down slowly in a convection-like manner throughout a column of sand under optimal conditions, and the sand remains a generally solid mass. This lubricates the sand particles and renders them unable to support any significant weight, since they move around with very little friction, behaving more like a liquid when exposed to stress. Since the water does not usually go all the way up through the sand, the sand above does not appear to move at all, and can support leaves and other small debris, making quicksand difficult to distinguish from the surrounding environment.
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Properties
Quicksand is a non-Newtonian fluid: when undisturbed it often appears to be solid ("gel" form), but a minor (less than 1%) change in the stress on the quicksand will cause a sudden decrease in its viscosity ("sol" form). A non-Newtonian fluid is a Fluid whose flow properties are not described by a single constant value of Viscosity. In the Physical sciences a phase is a Set of states of a macroscopic physical system that have relatively uniform chemical composition and physical properties A gel (from the lat gelu &mdashfreezing cold ice or gelatus &mdashfrozen immobile is an apparently solid jelly-like material formed from a Stress is a measure of the average amount of Force exerted per unit Area. Viscosity is a measure of the resistance of a Fluid which is being deformed by either Shear stress or Extensional stress. A sol is a Colloidal suspension of Solid particles (1-500 Nanometres in size in a Liquid. After an initial disturbance—such as a person attempting to walk on it—the water and sand in the quicksand separate and dense regions of sand sediment form; it is because of the formation of these high volume fraction regions that the viscosity of the quicksand seems to increase suddenly. Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed or bottom of a body of Volume fractions \phi_i are useful alternatives to Mole fractions x_i when dealing with Mixtures in which there is a large disparity between If a person steps in it they will start to sink. In order to move within the quicksand, a person or object must apply sufficient pressure on the compacted sand to re-introduce enough water to liquefy it. Pressure (symbol 'p' is the force per unit Area applied to an object in a direction perpendicular to the surface Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. The forces required to do this are quite large: to remove a foot from quicksand at a speed of one centimeter per second would require the same amount of force as "that needed to lift a medium-sized car. In Physics, a force is whatever can cause an object with Mass to Accelerate. The foot is an Anatomical structure found in many Animals It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows Locomotion. Speed is the rate of motion, or equivalently the rate of change in position often expressed as Distance d traveled per unit of A centimetre ( American spelling: centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one hundredth The second ( SI symbol s) sometimes abbreviated sec, is the name of a unit of Time, and is the International System of Units " [1]
Recent research findings
It was commonly believed that the behavior of quicksand was due solely to saturated or supersaturated suspensions of granules in water. Water content or moisture content is the quantity of Water contained in a material such as Soil (called soil moisture) rock, The term supersaturation refers to a Solution that contains more of the dissolved material than could be dissolved by the Solvent under normal circumstances In Chemistry, A suspension is a Heterogenous fluid containing Solid particles that are sufficiently large for Sedimentation. Pressure from underground sources of water would separate and suspend the granular particles, reducing the friction between them. Friction is the Force resisting the relative motion of two Surfaces in contact or a surface in contact with a fluid (e As of September 2005, it has been shown that it is the presence of salt that is largely responsible. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Salt is a Dietary mineral composed primarily of Sodium chloride that is essential for Animal life but toxic to most land plants [1] The stability of the colloidal quicksand is compromised by the presence of salt, increasing the likelihood of sand flocculation and the formation of the high viscosity regions of sediment responsible for quicksand's "trapping" power. Stability can refer to Aircraft flight Stability (aircraft In atmospheric fluid dynamics atmospheric stability, a measure of the turbulence Flocculation is a process where a Solute comes out of Solution in the form of floc or flakes
Prevalence
Quicksand may be found inland (on riverbanks, near lakes, or in marshes), or near the coast. A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the In Geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of Wetland which is subject
One region notorious for its quicksands is Morecambe Bay, England. Morecambe Bay is a large bay in northwest England, nearly due east of the Isle of Man and just to the south of the Lake District National Park England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland As the bay is very broad and shallow, a person trapped by the quicksand would be exposed to the danger of the returning tide, which can come in rapidly. Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment Characteristics A tide is a repeated cycle of sea level changes in the following stages Over several hours the water rises or advances up a beach in the flood
See also
References
- ^ a b "A. Dry quicksand is loose Sand whose Bulk density is reduced by blowing air through it and which yields easily to weight or pressure Fech fech ( فش فش) is a very fine powder caused by the erosion of Clay - Limestone The Atterberg limits are a basic measure of the nature of a fine-grained Soil. The Atterberg limits are a basic measure of the nature of a fine-grained Soil. Soil liquefaction describes the behavior of loose saturated unconsolidated soils i Thixotropy is the property of some non-Newtonian pseudoplastic fluids to show a time-dependent change in Viscosity; the longer the fluid undergoes Khaldoun, E. Eiser, G. H. Wegdam and Daniel Bonn Rheology: Liquefaction of quicksand under stress" 'Nature' Vol. 437, Pg. 635, 29 September 2005 doi:10.1038/437635a
External links
- Howstuffworks.com - How quicksand works
- "What is quicksand?", Scientific American. A digital object identifier ( DOI) is a permanent identifier given to an Electronic document.
- Quicksand in Fiction
- Brainiac on Quicksand (Youtube)
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