How to Survive Quicksand

February 28th, 2009

You have been warned about quicksand your entire life. This is one aspect of nature that you don’t want to run into alone. Quicksand is a colloid hydrogel that consists of fine, granular matter, clay, and salt water. When us humans attempt to walk on it, the water and the sand in the quicksand separate, and the dense sand sediment form. It is because of this formation that increases the viscosity of the quicksand. If you step in it, you will start to sink. Quicksand can be found inland near lakes, marshes, riverbanks, or near the coast.

In order to move within the quicksand to try to get out, you must apply a sufficient amount of pressure on the compacted sand that is enough to re-introduce enough water needed to liquefy it. The forces needed are large. Experts and researchers said that in order to remove a foot at a speed of around one centimeter per second would require the same amount of force needed to lift a medium-sized car. Daniel Bonn, PhD, a physics professor at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, said that if you were ever in quicksand, the best thing to do would not be to thrash around, but to wait until things settle down.

Bonn and colleagues stated, “Any unfortunate victim should sink halfway into the quicksand, but could then take solace from the knowledge that there would be no risk of being sucked beneath the surface.” They came up with this theory by running an experiment. They made their own quicksand equipped with fine sand, clay, and saltwater. They shook the mixture and the quicksand quickly liquefied. They have also stated: “The higher the stress, the more liquid the quicksand becomes, so movement by a trapped body causes it to sink deeply.” They put a bead on the quicksand that is just as dense as humans and animals. The bead and quicksand were shaken to simulate movement. The bead stayed afloat with minimal shaking and shook to the bottom with a lot of shaking.

This states that quicksand has a chance to settle down if it is not upset by movement. However, in order to get out of quicksand, you must be pretty strong, strong enough to lift a “medium-sized car”.

Jason Survival Techniques