Chris Lusby Taylor wrote:
> As I recall from an article about a recent sand scupture competition in
> Brighton, the secret is to use river sand, not sea beach sand. It is much
> finer and, perhaps, its grains stick together better. Anyway, I'm pretty
> sure no binding agent was used there. The results are amazing, particularly
> where there are overhangs - jaws and noses, for instance.
>
> Chris Lusby Taylor
>
>
>
>
An interesting explanation! I'd always understood that sand remains
firm through surface tension of the water film around each grain when
moist which ceases when it's dried out. Hence our feet sink into
flooded sand when paddling near the shore ('plodgeing' for us Geordies)
and also into dry sand but are supported on the surface when the sand is
just moist. Would grain size affect this?
Might it not be that river sand contains some clay particles as with the
red Mansfield sand used in moulding and casting metals? This retains
its compacted form even when dried out.
Tony Moss
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