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Nature 429, 352-353 (27 May 2004) | doi:10.1038/429352b
Granular materials: The brazil nut effect — in reverse
Troy Shinbrot1
Abstract
In a box of mixed nuts, the brazils rise to the top. In granular mixtures in general, depending on their size and density, the 'brazil nuts' may sink instead. This reverse effect has now been explored further.
Every farmer can attest to the curious fact that the largest crop each spring is the boulders that appear, untended, on open fields. Common wisdom holds that this crop is loosened from the soil by frost heave, and rises because small pebbles can slip beneath large boulders, but not vice versa1.
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RESEARCH
Brazil-nut effect Size separation of granular particlesNature Brief Communication (15 Nov 2001)