Dictionary:
quick·sand (kwĭk'sănd')  |
[Middle English quyksond, living sand : quick, quyk, living; see quick + sand, sond, sand; see sand.]
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: quicksand |
For more information on quicksand, visit Britannica.com.
| Geography Dictionary: quicksand |
Unconsolidated sand which cannot support any significant weight when saturated with water, and thus semi-liquid. Quicksands are common when large amounts of water accumulate in sand.
| Architecture: quicksand |
Fine sand, sometimes with an admixture of clay, which is saturated with water so that it has no bearing capacity at its surface; fine sand in a quick condition.
| Science Q&A: What is quicksand? |
Quicksand is a mass of sand and mud that contains a large amount of water. A thin film separates individual grains of sand so the mixture has the characteristics of a liquid. Quicksand is found at the mouths of large rivers or other areas that have a constant source of water. Heavy objects, including humans, can sink when encountering quicksand and the mixture collapses. However, since the density of the sand/water mix is slightly greater than the density of the human body, most humans can actually float on quicksand.
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| Dream Symbol: Quicksand |
Quicksand may symbolize losing one's footing and sinking into the quicksand of one's emotions or the unconscious. Dreaming about being in quicksand may reflect circumstances in the business or personal life of the dreamer that are beyond the dreamer's control.
| Wikipedia: Quicksand |
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Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel consisting of fine granular matter (such as sand or silt), clay, and salt water. In the name, as in that of quicksilver (mercury), "quick" does not mean "fast," but "living" (cf. the expression the quick and the dead).
Water circulation underground can focus in an area with the optimal mixture of fine sands and other materials such as clay. The water moves up and then down slowly in a convection-like manner throughout a column of sand, and the sand remains a generally solid mass. This lubricates the sand particles and renders them unable to support significant weight, since they move with little friction, behaving more like a liquid when exposed to stress. Since water does not usually go up to the surface of the sand, the sand on top appears solid, and can support leaves and other small debris, making quicksand difficult to distinguish from the surrounding environment.
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Quicksand is a non-Newtonian fluid: when undisturbed it often appears to be solid ("gel" form), but a minor (less than 1%) change in the stress on the quicksand will cause a sudden decrease in its viscosity ("sol" form). After an initial disturbance—such as a person attempting to walk on it—the water and sand in the quicksand separate and dense regions of sand sediment form; it is because of the formation of these high volume fraction regions that the viscosity of the quicksand seems to increase suddenly. Someone stepping on it will start to sink. To move within the quicksand, a person or object must apply sufficient pressure on the compacted sand to re-introduce enough water to liquefy it. The forces required to do this are quite large: to remove a foot from quicksand at a speed of one cm per second would require the same amount of force as "that needed to lift a medium-sized car." [1]
Because of the higher density of the quicksand, it would be impossible for a human or animal to completely sink in the quicksand, though natural hazards present around the quicksand would lead people to believe that quicksand is dangerous. In actuality the quicksand itself is harmless on its own, but because it greatly impedes human locomotion, the quicksand would allow harsher elements like solar radiation, dehydration, or tides to harm a trapped person.[2]
It was commonly believed that the behavior of quicksand was due solely to saturated or supersaturated suspensions of granules in water. Pressure from underground sources of water would separate and suspend the granular particles, reducing the friction between them. As of September 2005, it has been shown that it is the presence of salt that is largely responsible.[1] The stability of the colloidal quicksand is compromised by the presence of salt, increasing the likelihood of sand flocculation and the formation of the high viscosity regions of sediment responsible for quicksand's "trapping" power.
Quicksand may be found inland (on riverbanks, near lakes, or in marshes), or near the coast.
One region notorious for its quicksands is Morecambe Bay, England. As the bay is very broad and shallow, a person trapped by the quicksand would be exposed to the danger of the returning tide, which can come in rapidly.
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| Translations: Quicksand |
Nederlands (Dutch)
drijfzand, gevaarlijke situatie
Français (French)
n. - sables mouvants, (fig) bourbier
Deutsch (German)
n. - Treibsand, Mahlsand
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κινούμενη άμμος
Italiano (Italian)
sabbie mobili
Português (Portuguese)
n. - areia movediça (f)
Русский (Russian)
зыбучие пески
Español (Spanish)
n. - arena movediza
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kvicksand
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
流沙, 危险状态, 流沙地
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 流沙, 危險狀態, 流沙地
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 유사, 모래밭, 마음을 놓을 수 없는 상태
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) الرمل اللين تغرق فيه الأرجل, حاله خطر, وقت الضيق
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - חול טובעני
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| Q&A for Kids: What is quicksand? |
Quicksand is regular sand into which water is forced from below. Usually an underground spring supplies the water that pushes up into a deposit of sand. The extra water makes it so the sand particles don't hold together as well, and they become unstable to walk on. Quicksand is like a thick soup of sand and water-it isn't as watery as a puddle but isn't as firm as regular sand either. A large person or animal that strays into quicksand-which often looks deceptively dry on top-can sink quickly, even disappearing under its surface.
Deposits of quicksand are rare, and they usually aren't very deep. If you do find yourself sinking into the muck, try to hold on to something solid and pull yourself out, or lie on your back with your arms out as if you were floating in water and wait for rescuers to come. It's easy enough to float in quicksand if you stay fairly still; struggling to get out, on the other hand, only makes you sink faster.
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| Best of the Web: quicksand |
Some good "quicksand" pages on the web:
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Copyrights:
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Geography Dictionary. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Science Q&A. The Handy Science Answer Book. 2003 ©Visible Ink Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Dream Symbol. The Dreams Encyclopedia. 1995 ©Visible Ink Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Quicksand". Read more |
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| Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Q&A for Kids. The Handy Answer Book for Kids. 2002 ©Visible Ink Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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