Can you survive quicksand

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Facebook Facebook Twitter Twitter. Updated December 04, Key Takeaways: Quicksand Quicksand is a non-Newtonian fluid made of sand mixed with water or air. It changes its viscosity in response to stress or vibration, allowing you to sink, but making it hard to escape. You can only sink into quicksand up to your waist.

Really, the only way to drown from the quicksand is to fall into it head first or face first. A rescuer can't simply pull a victim out of quicksand.

However, a person or branch can be used to help reduce the victim's weight, making it easier to work free and float. Even though you can't sink all the way into quicksand, it's a killer. Death can come in the form of suffocation, dehydration, hypothermia, predators, crush syndrome, or drowning from a river or incoming tide.

The best way to prevent a fatality is to keep a charged cell phone with you so you can call for help. If you have to rescue yourself, wriggle your legs to make the quicksand more fluid while trying to sit back into the quicksand to increase your body's surface area. Slowly float out. Featured Video. Cite this Article Format. Water bubbling up from under the ground is a definite warning sign. Tap the ground in front of you with a stick if you have any doubt about how solid it is.

Quicksand will visibly give way. The A. By Beth Skwarecki. At higher stresses, quicksand liquefies very quickly, and the higher the stress the more fluid it becomes. This causes a trapped body to sink when it starts to move. But a person moving around in quicksand will never go all the way under. The reason is that humans just aren't dense enough. Quicksand has a density of about 2 grams per milliliter.

But human density is only about 1 gram per milliliter. At that level of density, sinking in quicksand is impossible. You would descend about up to your waist, but you'd go no further.

Even objects with a higher density than quicksand will float on it—until they move. Aluminum, for example, has a density of about 2. But a piece of aluminum will float on top of quicksand until motion causes the sand to liquefy.

During their study, researchers placed an aluminum bead on top of a container of laboratory-created quicksand. At rest, the bead remained on the surface, despite aluminum's higher density. But then scientists started shaking the container. When they shook it only a little, the bead stayed floating on top.

But when they shook the container a bit harder, the ball descended to the bottom. But if quicksand becomes less viscous as you struggle, why is it so difficult to escape? The reason, explain the study's authors, is that after its initial liquefaction, quicksand's apparent viscosity thickness or flow resistance increases.

The increase is due to the formation of sand sediment, which has a very high viscosity. Be on the lookout for ground that appears unstable and wet, or sand that has unnatural looking "ripples" in the texture. You should be able to see water seeping up from below the sand, making quicksand quite visible if you're on the lookout as you're hiking around.

Test the ground in front of you with your walking stick. Always bring a hefty walking stick, both to use in case you become stuck, but also to tap the ground in front of you as you walk. A few seconds with a walking stick could be the difference between a messy wrestling match with a pool of quicksand and a safe hike.

Quicksand forms when wet sand is suddenly dislodged. The water cannot escape so it creates a liquefied solid. Not Helpful 19 Helpful Because it keeps pulling you downward. If your body sinks into the chest area, the pressure can make it difficult for you to breathe.

Not Helpful 36 Helpful If you have a rope or walking stick use that to pull them out from a safe distance. Do not enter the quicksand yourself. Not Helpful 29 Helpful It is rare, but it is mostly found in forests or mines. Not Helpful 25 Helpful Quicksand can be found anywhere where there are underground streams and sand. Not Helpful 13 Helpful You might, but it would be very slow so you would have time to roll away. Not Helpful 21 Helpful Yes, if it's the size of a walking stick or larger, you should be able to pry someone out.

Try and swim upwards. If you still continue to sink, wriggle your body, but make sure you're relaxed and are still able to breathe. Not Helpful 23 Helpful Quicksand can occur anywhere in the world, as long as the conditions are right. Not Helpful 10 Helpful A lot of quicksand will be subtly moving, so you can reach for any ground not following that behavior. Not Helpful 3 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Twisting and squirming only sinks you deeper. Make every motion slowly and take your time. Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0. Relax your head and keep it up as much as you can without becoming tense.