Posted on 09/30/2005 4:45:00 PM PDT by Cautor
Anyone who has built sandcastles learns they hold up best if a little water is mixed with the building material. But until now scientists couldn’t agree why.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Article does not say, but I bet government dollars have funded this earth shattering reasearch.
Yeah Im no rocket scientist but wouldnt common sense dictate that it would be because, just about what they discovered???
Well, the basic idea is obvious--that wet sands sticks together--but if the researchers can elaborate on that and do good, novel physics, it's not a waste of money at all. Science progresses in odd ways.
"I bet government dollars have funded this earth shattering reasearch."
You mean your tax dollars.
Judging from the article, it doesn't sound like they got much beyond the obvious. But maybe it's just the article.
Yes, I should have been more explicit, for the sake of the DU lurkers, who seemingly fail to grasp that obvious concept.
LOL, barbarians assault sand castle, film at eleven.
Trebuchet? {spelling uncertain}
trebuche. Yes, that does go with sandcastles although I found a good kick with the bare foot would also do wonders.
Given that many structures are built out of a mixture of sand and a binding agent, understanding how the sand and binding agent interact could be very useful in construction. While I don't exactly want the government speculating with my tax dollars, it would seem at least possible that this research might save money in future by allowing more efficient construction techniques to be used in future government projects.
Whatever it is that they make will last a lot longer that way.
If they add gravel and rebar, even better.
"it would seem at least possible that this research might save money in future by allowing more efficient construction techniques to be used in future government projects."
Maybe it will help build better dikes for NO to keep that sinking city dry the next time a Cat 4 or 5 roars in off the Gulf.
Had to read the whole article to find out it's 8 parts sand to 1 part water.
I suspect SWAG has a lot to do with it. If you're willing to register (it's free), you can find the original article here: http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/v1/n1/index.html
I think the real title is: Maximum angle of stability of a wet granular pile
At least it's not a steaming pile, or then again, maybe it is.
Read all about it!
http://www.trebuchet.com/
The answer has to be surface tension. Droplets of water form little bridges between grains, which have a cohesive effect because of surface tension around the neck of the bridges.
Interesting. I see this ancient art has gone hi-tech (simulators and all).
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