Understanding how grains flow is vital for everything from landslide prediction to agricultural processing, and scientists aren’t very good at it. By Randall Munroe What is the softest sand in the ...

A: We don’t know. No one understands how sand works. That may sound absurd, but it’s sort of true. Understanding the flow of granular materials like sand is a major unsolved problem in physics. If you ...

Chompy demonstrates to the kids how sand is made. Parrotfish are a big part of a process called bioerosion, breaking down hard substances such as coral and creating much of the world’s sand through ...

What is “sand mining” and why is it bad for the environment? – O.H., via email Answer: Sand mining, extracting sand from the earth, is the second most widespread human activity in marine environments, ...