A former NASA engineer turned sand into 'liquid soup' and the internet freaked out here's the sc

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  • Former NASA engineer Mark Rober is going viral for turning sand into a "liquefied soup."
  • On Tuesday, Rober posted a video on YouTube that shows him filling a hot tub with completely dry sand.
  • But the sand moves, flows, ripples, and even bubbles like it's a liquid.
  • You can sink right into the "liquid sand" or dive into it like it's water.
  • There's a scientific explanation behind this seemingly magical phenomenon.
  • As Rober explains in the video, the "liquefied soup" is actually what scientists call a "fluidized bed."
  • Basically, when you blow air into the bottom of a container of sand, you increase the space between individual sand particles.
  • This reduces internal friction and allows the particles to move around more freely, the way they do in a liquid.
  • When you stop blowing air into the container, the "fluidized" effect instantly disappears.
  • Watch Rober's full video, and explanation, below.

 

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