Is life in motion?

Many people have heard more than once that in life you should never stop. As they say, life is in motion. But is it always like this? There is one of the few examples showing that just a state of maximum peace can save a person’s life. These are cases of getting into a quagmire or quicksand. You should understand in more detail what they are, why they arise and how to get out of them.

If not in life, then in movies, you have at least once seen how something or someone (person or animal) fell into these natural traps. This is actually a very insidious natural phenomenon. A quagmire is a swamp that can gradually suck in objects and living creatures that fall into it. Why do some swamps simply smear them with mud, while others literally “eat” their victims? The point is in such a concept as thixotropy. This phenomenon means the property of substances or their mixtures to become more liquid in motion (when exposed to external influence) and to thicken at rest. Some types of clays and minerals have such insidious abilities. If they are present in a given swamp, then once they get into it, it will be difficult to get out without outside help. A bog is a swamp, often covered with a thick layer of algae, and it can even resemble a lawn.

There is a phenomenon in nature that is even more dangerous than a quagmire. We are more often accustomed to hearing such concepts as quarry sand, river sand, and construction sand. However, there is another one. It's quicksand. It is almost impossible to get out of it. The main reason for the transformation of ordinary sand into quicksand is its excessive saturation with liquid (water) and air. That is why they can “swallow” what gets into them. When a denser body acts on quicksand (this is another name for quicksand), the spaces filled with liquid and air begin to decrease. This creates free space for the trapped victim, which, under its weight, goes deeper and deeper. Such “beaches” tend to dry out on top, creating the appearance of being quite ordinary. Be careful in areas close to large bodies of water with open sandy areas. There may be undercurrents there. Another cause of quicksand traps is earthquakes. After them, small cracks usually appear in the upper layers of the earth's crust, which do not fill when there is no mechanical impact on the surface. When it appears, sand and often what presses on it goes into space.

What to do?

If it so happens that you find yourself captive in a quagmire or quicksand, then you have no choice but to save your life. As stated earlier, you need to move minimally. If you find yourself in a quagmire, then you need to stop all sorts of jerky floundering. You should try to lie on your back and try to get out with very slow, smooth movements and, if possible, call for help. If you happen to be trapped and find yourself in quicksand, then it is better not to move here at all. You should calmly wait for help, since in this case you have a much greater chance of salvation. At the slightest movement (even with a heartbeat!) the insidious grains of sand are activated. It must be said that often the suction substances do not exceed a few meters in depth (and sometimes even less than one). However, in the case of sand, this is unlikely to save. The immersed part of the object (body) is clamped inside as if in a vice, and it is very difficult to release it on your own. So it’s better not to get into such “scrapes” at all and always follow the prohibitory signs on the shore.

Nature is terrible in her anger. Its arsenal includes rivers of boiling lava, giant tsunami waves, destructive earthquakes, bottomless swamps, and floods. There is another terrible weapon. These are quicksands, which have long been called “dry swamps”.

Legends of Quicksand

They frighten children and travelers; they are told by old people instead of bedtime stories. Only unlike fictional stories, quicksand is a terrible reality that people living on the coasts most often encounter. Imagine: a storm, a ship in distress, desperate people. And suddenly in the distance there is a shore - hope for salvation. With great difficulty, the ship docks, but the cries of “Hurray” are replaced by cries of horror. The ship begins to slowly sink into the coastal sand. People are trying to escape, but, alas, few succeed.

Such cases, although they were not rare, were still almost all counted. But the number of people who disappeared during walks cannot be counted at all. The sand underfoot suddenly turns into a trap, the person panics, begins to flounder and drowns.

Where are the most dangerous places with quicksand?

This is the Goodwin Shoals on the South Foreland Cape. The second name is “Ship Graveyard”. It looks terrifying: the skeletons and sides, randomly scattered along the coast, are covered with sand. In other places you can only see the tip of the mast. A grim sight.

Alaska
This is the Tarnagen fjord.

Jamaica
This is the place where the city of Port Royal once stood, which disappeared in the 17th century. The original version is that there was an earthquake in 1692. The impact of the elements was powerful, a tidal wave destroyed the city, and the sea swallowed it. In 1992, scientists were able to prove that the city really drowned, but not in the water. He is another victim of the quicksand.

Caribbean Islands

Coast of Canada
In principle, quicksand can occur anywhere there is water, sand and rocks. That is, the shores of lakes and seas, as well as large rivers, can be considered dangerous. On the outskirts of deserts, you can also fall into a trap created by quicksand.

How are quicksand formed?

If you remember your school physics lessons, you can easily find the answer to the formation of quicksand. The phenomenon of this phenomenon lies in the ratio of the amount of sand and water, as well as their interaction. What does dry (and therefore safe) sand consist of? From countless grains of sand and air. What happens if you add water here? The water will begin to envelop each grain of sand, and a film will form around it. Since there are tiny dust particles on the grains of sand, the cementing process begins, in which they take an active part. This is how a completely new substance is formed - viscous and very viscous.

This means that for ordinary sand to turn into quicksand, it needs to be wet.. A bucket of water will not help, you need a constant source of water, and the larger it is, the greater the danger. In coastal places it is a tidal wave. The rest have underground springs. The depth of the source varies. If the mass of sand is large, then the estimated depth can reach forty meters. Moreover, only water sources that are in an almost vertical position or slightly inclined are suitable for creating fluidity. On the surface everything looks quite harmless: sand, pebbles here and there, a couple of bushes. Without special instruments, it is impossible to determine whether there is water in this place, whether the sand is wet, and what the extent of the danger is.

And the water works at this time, constantly wetting the layers of sand, causing it to crumble. This process is invisible from above; even specialists cannot determine it. But as soon as any heavy object gets here, the trap is triggered. The process of suction begins, being pulled deeper.

How to check if there is quicksand in this place?

It's better not to do this. Don't know the area? Avoid the sand that is pleasant to your bare feet. This measure is desirable everywhere and mandatory for those places where the trap has been triggered at least once. There is usually a rescue service and warning signs in these areas.

Is there a chance to get out of the quicksand?

The answer is clear - yes. And now a big BUT. Only those who know what and how to do and do not get confused have a chance, that is, they will be able not to panic.

The actions are simple: lie on your back, try to spread your arms and legs, that is, take up as much space as possible. If you squeeze into a ball, the weight will put pressure on one place, and the body will begin to sink faster. Usually both legs fall into the trap first, sometimes one gets stuck - this can be considered real luck. Lying on your back, with your arms outstretched, you need to slowly, without sudden movements, pull out your legs. The process may take an hour, but be patient and persistent - your life is worth it. After you free your legs, you need to determine where you came from. There, on that side, is a safe, hard surface. That's where you row, and in the literal sense of the word. Swim on the sand, preferably on your back. You can not? Carefully roll over onto your stomach and, pushing off with your arms and legs, “swim.” And remember: any sudden movement and you will be pulled into the sand.

Quicksand is a unique phenomenon, like all other inventions of Nature.

Without a doubt, quicksand is one of the most dangerous places on Earth. Usually the sun dries out the top layer of sand, resulting in a thin, hard crust on which grass can even grow. But the illusion of reliability will instantly evaporate, as soon as you step on it, the ground will literally float from under your feet. The poor souls who step on this sand, which seems like solid ground, are instantly sucked in. The legs become squeezed by a hardened mass, and it is impossible to pull them out without outside help.

Quicksand itself cannot kill a person. Firstly, it will not be able to completely absorb a person, since it is a non-Newtonian liquid. However, if a person is not saved in time, he may die from a number of other reasons. For example, from dehydration, solar radiation, various living creatures, or dying under the tide.

Many theories have been proposed about the quicksand phenomenon. Most of them, of course, turned out to be wrong. However, over time the situation began to become clearer. It turned out that the properties of wet sand depend significantly on the amount of water it contains. Moistened grains of sand easily stick together, demonstrating a sharp increase in adhesion forces, which in dry sand are caused only by surface unevenness and are therefore very small. The forces of surface tension of the films of water surrounding each grain of sand cause them to stick together. In order for sand grains to stick together well, water must cover the particles and their groups with a thin film, while most of the space between them must remain filled with air. If the amount of water in the sand is increased, then as soon as the entire space between the sand grains is filled with water, the surface tension forces disappear and the result is a mixture of sand and water that has completely different properties. Thus, Quicksand is the most ordinary sand, under the thickness of which at a depth of several meters there is a fairly strong source of water.

Why does a person fall into quicksand? It's all about the special structure of the grains of sand. The flow of water coming from below whips up a loose cushion of grains of sand, which is in relative equilibrium for some time. The weight of a traveler who wanders into such a place collapses the structure. The grains of sand, being redistributed, move along with the body of the victim, additionally as if sucking the poor fellow into the soil layer. After this, the structure of the sand around the unfortunate person becomes completely different - tightly pressed wet grains of sand form a trap due to the force of the surface tension of the water layer. When you try to pull your leg out, a vacuum of air is formed, pulling the leg back with enormous force. To pull your leg out in such a situation at a speed of 0.1 m/s, you need to apply a force equal to the force of lifting a medium-sized passenger car. So, if you get into quicksand, it is better not to make sudden movements, but try to lie on your back and, with your arms outstretched, wait for help.

Quicksand is an ominous phenomenon present in many horror films. The inconspicuous flat surface of the sand suddenly begins to pull in the victim who has stepped on it. The more she tries to escape, the more the quicksand pulls in, eventually swallowing the person headlong. This terrible picture, of course, is more fiction than reality. However, quicksand does exist. Although their depth rarely exceeds several tens of centimeters, they can indeed pull in animals or even humans that have fallen to the surface. Moreover, which coincides with the ideas of the films, the sands really drag you in more and more, the more you try to get out of them.

The nature of quicksand is much simpler than it might seem, and there is no magic in explaining its action. This phenomenon can occur almost anywhere where there are the necessary factors for this, namely an underground source of water and sand. Quicksand is ordinary sand highly saturated with water to such an extent that the friction between the sand grains becomes negligible and the resulting substance can no longer hold objects on its surface. However, it is important to note that only very fine sand, with a dust-like structure, is suitable. Only it, mixed with water, can create a structure that absorbs matter.

There are several reasons why quicksand forms. Firstly, this is the release of groundwater in the form of springs to the surface of the Earth. If there is a sandy area in this place, then the formation of quicksand is quite possible. Another reason is an earthquake. Water from underground sources can also rise to the surface along the resulting faults. A human cause for the formation of quicksand is also possible. In the event of a water pipe break or waterlogging of the soil as a result of irrigation, water mixed with sand can also create a fluid mixture.

Even if you managed to find quicksand deep enough to get stuck in, then all the same, your situation is not hopeless. The first thing to do is to stop moving your arms and legs chaotically, trying to escape from the absorbing mass. Quicksand only absorbs an object when it moves. The best way to get out is to grab onto nearby bushes or hanging tree branches. You can also lean on a wide, strong support, such as a board. Even if none of this is nearby, it is still possible to get out. The main thing is that all movements are smooth. By gradually moving your hands, you can “swim” in quicksand. Slowly moving towards the shore, sooner or later you will reach a shallow place that will allow you to get out of the trap.

While walking somewhere in nature, enjoying the charm of flowering plants, listening to birds whistling cheerful songs, you can accidentally find yourself trapped in quicksand. But we should immediately warn you that everything is not as scary as shown in some films of the horror genre. Yes, of course, it is better to avoid them, but at the same time there is no need to be afraid. There are several consistent rules, knowledge of which will help you avoid such situations.

What is quicksand anyway? This is a really interesting but not at all unique mixture consisting of fine-grained material, clay and water (in desert areas - a mixture of sand and air). It looks solid, but becomes unstable when pressure is applied to its surface. It forms when water oversaturates such soil. Ordinary, naturally occurring sand (quarry, mountain, sea) consists of tightly packed grains that form a rigid mass (approximately 25 to 30 percent of the space between the grains is filled with water or air). Since many sand grains are elongated, separation can occur, resulting in voids that make up 30 to 70 percent of the mass. This mechanism is similar to a house of cards, where the space between the cards is much larger than the space occupied by them. The liquid helps create liquefied soil that is unable to withstand the weight load.

Quicksand can form in standing and flowing water that flows upward (as in artesian springs). Water jets directed upward resist and slow down soil particles. Saturated sediments may look quite solid, but a little on the surface initiates liquefaction. This causes the sand to form into a slurry and lose strength. The amortized water creates quicksand, liquefied sediment, and a spongy, liquid-like soil texture. Objects entering such an environment drop to a level at which their weight is equal to the weight of the displaced mixture (from soil and water). Liquefaction is a special case of the phenomenon under consideration. Thus, in the event of an earthquake, the pore pressure in shallow, wet, liquefied soil immediately increases and loses strength, which leads to the collapse of buildings and other objects located on its surface.

Quicksand forms where natural springs exist, in swampy or wet areas, near rivers, and on beaches, although most often they are not easy to identify. If you suddenly hit them, they retreat quickly and gently, reacting with an interval of a couple of seconds. They are, that is, at rest they represent a solid substance (gel-like form), but the slightest impact on them causes a sharp decrease in viscosity. They are also found in deserts, but extremely rarely, where sand deposits occur, for example, on dunes. But the reduction is limited to a few centimeters, because as soon as the air in the voids between the sand grains is removed (and this happens quickly), they become denser again.