Cambridge scientists have used downscaled laboratory models to show how sand dunes move through a landscape, revealing the conditions that determine whether they will pass through hurdles in their path – like pipelines or walls -- or get stopped in their tracks.
Even though they are inanimate objects, sand dunes can ‘communicate’ with each other, researchers have found. A team from the University of Cambridge has found that as they move, sand dunes interact with and repel their downstream neighbours.
When solids flow like liquids they can make sand dunes sing, and they can also result in a potentially deadly avalanche. Cambridge researchers are studying the physics behind both of these phenomena, which could have applications in industries such as pharmaceuticals, oil and gas.
The dynamics of an avalanche and the origins of the Universe will be the subjects of two presentations to the public by Cambridge researchers as part of this year’s Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.
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