Can quicksand swallow you?

Weather of Arabia - In films, directors prefer scenes in which they embody quicksand as it devours its victim, but can this sand really devour an unfortunate shepherd or a miserable bandit?

Everyone has witnessed those scenes that show a person stuck in quicksand, with those around him crying out to help him, but the more he resists the danger of quicksand to save his life, the more sand swallows him up, until he disappears completely and what he leaves behind is endless sand, and this may be his tragic end. .

There are so many films that present this tragic scene, that a journalist for Slate magazine by the name of Daniel Inbar decided to monitor the peak of treatment of this topic on the cinema screen. In the 1960s, one in every 35 films was reviewed. This theme appears in almost every work, from Lawrence of Arabia to The Mummy.

However, there is no conclusive evidence to prove that the more a person struggles to get out of quicksand, the greater his or her chance of drowning.

Quicksand

Quicksand usually consists of a water-saturated mixture of sand, silt, or salt, and is often found in river valleys. The surface of the soil appears solid from a distance, but the sand begins to disintegrate immediately upon contact. In this case, the sand separates from the water, leaving A layer of sand saturated with water, sometimes to the point where it can obstruct a person. In this case, the friction between the sand grains is greatly reduced, which makes them lose their ability to carry weight, and makes them susceptible to collapsing under whoever relies on them, which leads to their submersion at first.

Thus, a person's attempts to break free from this situation may result in him becoming more immersed in the sand, but could this amount to the quicksand swallowing the person whole? We may have an answer to this question through the experience of Daniel Boon, a researcher at the University of Amsterdam, who noticed warning signs on the banks of a lake during his visit to Iran, alerting visitors to the dangers of quicksand.

Analysis of soil and quicksand components

Researcher Daniel Boone boldly went to the area in question, took a small soil sample and upon returning to the laboratory, analyzed the main components of the soil, such as clay, water, salt and sand, and used this data to prepare “quick sand” in the laboratory using aluminum grains connected to each other, simulating the density of a person. ordinary.

The researcher placed these beads on top of the sand and shook the model to simulate the effect of a panicked person falling through quicksand. The results showed that the aluminum grains were initially submerged, but as the sand mixed with the water, their buoyancy increased and they returned to the surface.

The researcher then carried out other experiments, where he placed different objects on this “quicksand” and the results showed that objects with a similar density to a normal person were partially submerged in the sand. However, studies have shown that drowning in quicksand occurs when a person is stuck in a high tidal current. Even if the sand itself does not drag the person's body.

The researcher pointed out that self-liberation from quicksand requires tremendous force, with estimates showing that freeing one foot requires a force of up to 100,000 Newtons, which is more than the force of lifting a medium-sized car.

Experiments also showed the importance of salt in increasing the agitation of quicksand, leading to the formation of dangerous areas of thick sediments, and the research highlights that understanding these factors can help avoid catastrophic accidents and develop strategies to deal with these phenomena.

Discovery of a new type of quicksand

Between scientific experiments and unique submersion incidents, a new research team, consisting of Swiss and Brazilian scientists, returns to explore a unique type of quicksand, which appears to not require the presence of salt. The team conducted tests on samples from the shores of a lake in northeastern Brazil, and discovered that bacteria form a crust on The surface of the soil, giving the impression of stability, but collapses when subjected to pressure.

Despite this new discovery, non-salt quicksand remains a complex issue. The report refers to an incident in 2002 in which a man fell into a grain warehouse, and how the grain gradually moved, endangering his life. Firefighters then found an ingenious solution by using a boiler and a powerful vacuum cleaner to pull The grain and the man's rescue, in an incident that shows the complexities and challenges of dealing with quicksand.

Can quicksand swallow you to death?

You might think, based on the dramatic death scenes in movies, that we would hear about quicksand tragedies in real life. However, not many reports can be found online about quicksand deaths. Is quicksand really as dangerous as it appears in the movies?

No, quicksand, that is, sand saturated with water, can be a huge inconvenience, but it cannot lead to death in the way the cinema depicts it; The density of quicksand is greater than the density of the human body, and therefore people and animals can get stuck in it or float to the surface instead of being sucked to the bottom. The legs can become submerged due to their high density, but the torso contains lungs, making it buoyant enough to avoid problems.

If you are stuck in quicksand, the best solution is to lean back to distribute your body weight. Moving will not lead to drowning. Rather, slow back and forth movements can help weaken the quicksand's grip, and although getting out may take some time, physicists point out The force required to extract your foot from quicksand is approximately equivalent to the force needed to lift a medium-sized car. However, be aware that a person who freezes in quicksand could be at risk of drowning due to the incoming tide, but even this type of accident is very rare.

How do you behave when falling into dry quicksand?

When you find yourself with your feet stuck in “dry quicksand,” the need for outside help changes to the need to stay calm and follow a smart strategy. If you get stuck in waterlogged sand without sinking, the best thing to do is to shake your legs a little. This action pays... The water mixes with the sand surrounding your feet, helping to loosen the sandy soil and restore movement.

The main idea here is the need to remain calm, and lie on your back with your limbs straight. This position helps distribute your body weight better in the sand, contributes to restoring balance and wait until your body floats again to the surface.

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Sources:

bbc

britannica

outofchaos