Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1910-01-11
oUlCKSAND.
How Il Is Formed and It's creI IwsOmS
Characteristics.

Characteristics.
To most persons the word Iquick-
sand" gives sensation of horTor sim
,lar to that produced 10y the/thought
Of a snake and many sensat tional 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 off 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 fineness and partly because 1t
does not eventually cloud the glass by
scratching. as would the sharp sand.
1t is to its lightness that quicksand
owes its deadly qualities. and a dem
onstration of how it becomes "quick"
may be given by placing a quantity
in bucket and adding water by pres
sure through a 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 its weight. or supporting power,
reduced proportionately, weighing in
the water but thirty-two and a half
pounds as against ninetyfour 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
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
a porous stratum Of ground below high
water mark. and when the tide falls
return current is established through
the porous SANDY ground with a suffi-
cient velocity to loosen the sand and
make it quick"
A permanent quicksand is found
where a slow current of fresh water
finds it's way to the surface OF the
sand bed either in the bottom of 4
stream or elsewhere. Quicksands that
are encountered during the sinking OF
walls and foundations are due to the
influx of water when the work gets
below spring lever or the level OF
the water in the ground at that par
ticular spot. The sand, being deprived
of the lateral support of the water in
the excavation, is pushed in from be
hind by the water currents towing
from all sides.
One of the most peculiar and grew
some characteristics of quicksand IS
that it will soon engut any object
cast upon its surface, no matter how
light that object may be. even per-
fectly dry stick. -Harper's Weekly.