The ground was slipping from under his feet: why solid ground behaves like a liquid?

Liquefaction of soil (soil) called processes, which lead to the fact that the soil loses its strength because of filling the spaces between particles of water. As a result, the soil ceases to behave as a rigid body and takes the properties of a dense fluid (fluid). Liquefaction is mainly exposed to saturated granular soils: silty Sands or Sands containing layers, which can not leak water. Examples of liquefaction of the soil can be quicksand, plibona clay, turbid stream.

Earthquakes can also cause liquefaction of the soil. Due to seismic shock waves the soil particles begin to vibrate at different speeds. The relationships between them are disrupted, and the soil turns to water with suspended particles in it. The water tends to leave, but before the soil will return to initial condition, thinning of blood can cause destruction of buildings and structures.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»