Access
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
News and Views
Nature Materials 7, 174 - 175 (2008)
doi:10.1038/nmat2131
Granular matter: Sticky sand
Arshad Kudrolli1
- Arshad Kudrolli is in the Department of Physics, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts 01610, USA.
e-mail: akudrolli@clarku.edu
Abstract
The mechanical properties of granular matter are affected by the addition of liquid — however, over a wide range, the actual amount of liquid is unimportant. Now, imaging techniques look inside the wet granular pile, or 'sandcastle', to help solve this puzzle.
Adding a small amount of liquid to granular matter transforms its properties in practical ways. Wet sand can be easily sculpted1, grain segregation can be prevented2, 3, and particle agglomeration can be manipulated4, making it an important phenomenon in industrial processes.
To read this story in full you will need to login or make a payment (see right).
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Granular physics A bridge to sandpile stabilityNature Physics News and Views (01 Oct 2005)
RESEARCH
Morphological clues to wet granular pile stabilityNature Materials Letter (01 Mar 2008)
Maximum angle of stability of a wet granular pileNature Physics Letter (01 Oct 2005)
