Movatterモバイル変換

[0]ホーム
URL:

Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Advertisement

Nature
  • Brief Communication
  • Published:

Rheology

Liquefaction of quicksand under stress

Naturevolume 437, page635 (2005)Cite this article

A person trapped in salt-lake quicksand is not in any danger of being sucked under completely.

Abstract

People or animals caught in quicksand find it very hard to escape1. Here we show that quicksand acts as a trap because it becomes unstable when it is forced to move — first it liquefies, and then it collapses. But a simple sinking test demonstrates that it is impossible for a human to be drawn into quicksand altogether.

This is a preview of subscription content,access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Subscription info for Japanese customers

We have a dedicated website for our Japanese customers. Please go tonatureasia.com to subscribe to this journal.

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

￥ 4,980

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Rheological and mechanical determination of quicksand properties.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Lambe, T. W. & Whitman, R. V.Soil Mechanics (Wiley, New York, 1969).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Van Olphen, H. J. An Introduction to Clay Colloid Chemistry (Wiley, New York, 1977).

  3. Coussot, P., Nguyen, Q. D., Huynh, H. T. & Bonn, D.Phys. Rev. Lett.88, 175501 (2002).

    Article ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Huang, N. et al.Phys. Rev. Lett.94, 028301 (2005).

    Article ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Lohse, D., Rauhé, R., Bergmann, R. & van der Meer, D.Nature432, 689–690 (2004).

    Article ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Ferroir, T., Huynh, H. T., Chateau, X. & Coussot, P.Phys. Fluids16, 594–601 (2004).

    Article ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Batchelor, G. K.An Introduction to Fluid Dynamics (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1967).

    MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Van der Waals-Zeeman Institute, Amsterdam, 1018 XE, The Netherlands

    A. Khaldoun, G. H. Wegdam & Daniel Bonn

  2. HIMS, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1018 XE, The Netherlands

    E. Eiser

  3. Laboratoire de Physique Statistique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, 75231 Cedex 5, France

    Daniel Bonn

Authors
  1. A. Khaldoun
  2. E. Eiser
  3. G. H. Wegdam
  4. Daniel Bonn

Corresponding author

Correspondence toDaniel Bonn.

Rights and permissions

About this article

This article is cited by

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

Editorial Summary

Sand trap

Quicksand acts as an effective trap because it becomes unstable if forced to move. It first liquefies, then collapses. But there is good news: a simple test shows that it is impossible to sink beads with a density of 1 g per ml. So animals and humans, with a similar average density, will not be drawn into quicksand completely. They should sink only half-way.

Advertisement

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for theNature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox.Sign up for Nature Briefing
[8]ページ先頭
©2009-2026 Movatter.jp