The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-11-28
QUlCKSAND.
How II 10 Formed and Its Grewsons
Characteristics.

~" ~ - ~"S 10
Characteristics.
To most persons the word quick
sand" gives a sensation of horror SIM
liar 70 that produced by the thought
Of a snake, and many sensational ac-
counts have given to quicksand al
most human attributes. No ordinary
observer would be able to distinguish
dry quicksand from any other sand.
and the average person would be un-
able to restore it to its "quick" prop
critics even If he tried. If water is
mixed with the quicksand the mass
does not become mobile. and If the
water is drained of the sand will be
found firmly packed.
Quicksand Is comparatively very
light, weighing about ninety-four
pounds to the cubic foot, while other
forms of sand run as high as III
pounds Quicksand when examined
under the microscope will be found to
have rounded corners, like river sand.
as distinguished from "sharp" sand.
1t is quicksand that is used in hour
glasses and egg glasses, partly because
of its fneness and partly because 1t
does not eventually cloud the glass by
scratching, as would the sharp sand.
1t is to its ightness that quicksand
owes it's deadly qualities, and dem
onstration of how it becomes "quick"
may be given by placing a quantity
in a bucket and adding water by pres
sure through q hole in the bottom, al
lowing the water to overflow very
slowly when it has worked up through
the sand. The upward current will be
found to loosen the sand and to raise
the surface very slightly, separating
and lubricating the particles so that
they are easily displaced.
The bucket now contains genuine
quicksand. The sand, owing to the
support it receives from the water.
has it's weight, or supporting power,
reduced proportionately, weighing in
the water but thirty-two and a half
pounds as against ninety-four pounds
when dry. Bulk for bulk, the mixture
is nearly twice the weight Of man.
but is too mobile to give support and
| too thick to swim in. In its natural
| state, presenting an apparently firm
surface resembling simply damp sand,
it is the most deadly man trap con-
| ceivable.
| Quicksand requires In all cases an
upward current which is not quick or
strong enough to break through In
the form Of a spring. Ordinarily wa
ter flowing over quicksand will not
make it dangerous. 1t may be formed
in tidal rivers and on the shores OF
tidal seas by the rising tide saturating
porous stratum Of ground below high
water mark. and when the tide falls a
return current is established through
the porous SANDY ground with sufh'
ciert velocity to loosen the sand and
make it "qufck."
A permanent quicksand is found
where a slow current of fresh water
finds its way to the surface of the
sand bed either In the bottom of 6
stream or elsewhere. Quicksands tina
are encountered during the sinking O.
walls and foundations are due to th'
influx Of water when the work get:
below 'spring levep' or the level O.
the water in the ground at that par
ticular spot. The sand. being deprived
Of the lateral support Of the water il
the excavation, is pushed in from be
hind by the water currents flowin,
from all sides.
One Of the most peculiar and grew
some characteristics OF Quicksand j
that it will soon engulf any objec
cast upon it's surface. no matter how
light that object may be, even a pei
fectly dry stick.-Harper's Weekly.