Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

BoredPanda Add post form topAdd Post
Tooltip close

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Ex NASA Engineer Makes Everyone Freak Out When He Turns Sand Into ‘Liquid Soup’, And Here’s How He Did It
47.7K

Ex NASA Engineer Makes Everyone Freak Out When He Turns Sand Into ‘Liquid Soup’, And Here’s How He Did It

ADVERTISEMENT

Former NASA engineer Mark Rober has found a way to make science just as (if not more) entertaining as Bill Nye did – by making sand behave like water. Not only did he document the entire process, he even filled his hot tub to have fun with it, and explained everything in an easily understandable and humorous manner along the way.

In his entertaining video, Mark explores what is known as fluidized beds, “a physical phenomenon occurring when a quantity of a solid particulate substance is placed under appropriate conditions to cause a solid/fluid mixture to behave as a fluid.” To make sand ripple and bubble like it’s a liquid, Mark used air. Basically, by blowing air into the bottom of a container of sand, he increased the space between individual sand particles, reducing internal friction and allowing the particles to move around more freely, the way they would in a liquid.

“I’ve wanted to build one for a long time,” Mark explains in his video. “But you can find literally NO information online on how to make one like that. So I started combing through a bunch of patent drawings for massive industrial-sized fluid beds, and I noticed that instead of one big inlet, they all had a bunch of small holes to deliver air.”

Starting with that in mind, it still took him 25 failed versions before arriving at his first working design. Watch the video below to see how everything unfolded and let us know in the comments if you’d like to dive in a tub of ‘fluidized sand’ yourself!

ADVERTISEMENT

More info: YouTube | Facebook

Former NASA engineer Mark Rober wanted to create a ‘liquid sand’ hot tub for a long time

But he couldn’t find any information online on how to make one

So he started combing through a bunch of patent drawings for massive industrial-sized fluid beds

Basically, it’s a phenomenon that occurs when a solid/fluid mixture starts behaving as a fluid

It took Mark 25 failed attempts to get it right

ADVERTISEMENT

But eventually, he fluidized the sand in his hot tub

And even his nephews joined the fun

ADVERTISEMENT

Watch the video below to see how he did it

Share on Facebook
Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Author, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

Read less »
Rokas Laurinavičius

Rokas Laurinavičius

Author, BoredPanda staff

Rokas is a writer at Bored Panda with a BA in Communication. After working for a sculptor, he fell in love with visual storytelling and enjoys covering everything from TV shows (any Sopranos fans out there?) to photography. Throughout his years in Bored Panda, over 300 million people have read the posts he's written, which is probably more than he could count to.

What do you think ?
Add photo comments
POST
CatShatBrix
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Science! Learn it, cuz one day you get to make the coolest things.

Kara Witham
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait tho, liquid sand yes, but not to bathe in...I don't want sand in my uh...

Load More Replies...
Maike
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this is sooooo cool. I like this new science guy.

marogr
Community Member
7 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Really? So put your head into this liquid sand and take a breath... It is more dangerous than water.

Load More Replies...
Load More Comments
CatShatBrix
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Science! Learn it, cuz one day you get to make the coolest things.

Kara Witham
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait tho, liquid sand yes, but not to bathe in...I don't want sand in my uh...

Load More Replies...
Maike
Community Member
7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this is sooooo cool. I like this new science guy.

marogr
Community Member
7 years ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

Really? So put your head into this liquid sand and take a breath... It is more dangerous than water.

Load More Replies...
Load More Comments
Related on Bored Panda
Related on Bored Panda
Trending on Bored Panda
Also on Bored Panda