How to build the perfect sandcastle—according to science

Whether we prefer water sports or relaxing with a good book, the humble sandcastle is often a seaside must. But what's the secret to building a majestic sandcastle that will withstand the tide of time? Luckily, there's a ...

Ancient Egyptians transported pyramid stones over wet sand

Physicists from the FOM Foundation and the University of Amsterdam have discovered that the ancient Egyptians used a clever trick to make it easier to transport heavy pyramid stones by sledge. The Egyptians moistened the ...

Image: Martian sand dunes in spring

(Phys.org) —Mars' northern-most sand dunes are beginning to emerge from their winter cover of seasonal carbon dioxide (dry) ice. Dark, bare south-facing slopes are soaking up the warmth of the sun.

Marks on Martian dunes may be tracks of dry-ice sleds

(Phys.org) —NASA research indicates hunks of frozen carbon dioxide—dry ice—may glide down some Martian sand dunes on cushions of gas similar to miniature hovercraft, plowing furrows as they go.

Texas drought will harm wildlife habitat for years

(AP) -- In a muddy pile of sand where a pond once flowed in the Texas Panhandle, dead fish, their flesh already decayed and feasted on by maggots, lie with their mouths open. Nearby, deer munch on the equivalent of vegetative ...

Winds of change strike Mars, too

Mysterious dark sand dunes around Mars' northern polar cap are shifting with the seasons, as carbon dioxide gas changes form and sparks landscape-altering avalanches, said a study published Thursday.

Scientists explore the physics of bumpy roads

sand or gravel or snow -- develops ripples that make driving a very shaky experience. A team of physicists from Canada, France and the United Kingdom have recreated this "washboard" phenomenon in the lab with surprising results: ...

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