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Inventor Injects Air Into Hot Tub Full of Sand, Now You'll Want One

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Former NASA engineer Mark Rober had some fun in a hot tub filled with sand, and once you see what he did, you will probably want to do it too.

The process involved adding air to the sand in the hot tub, which essentially “liquified” the sand, enabling him to move through it as if it were water.

In a video uploaded to YouTube, Rober demonstrated the effect of fluidized beds, and it’s amazing to watch.

Rober first started with a small prototype, which he said it took 25 tries to get right, but once he got it, he was ready to make a life-size version using an old hot tub.

The process involved using an air compressor to pump air through pipes that had small holes drilled in them. The pipes were lined up on the bottom of the tub with the holes pointing down. The tub was then filled with sand.

Once those pipes were connected with an air compressor, the magic happened.

As air was pumped through pipes at the bottom of the tub, it surrounded each grain of sand, reducing friction and causing the mixture to behave like liquid.

Lighter objects will float to the top of the sand, and heavier objects will sink to the bottom of the tub.

That includes humans.

Do you think this is safe?

The effect, known as fluidization, can happen with almost any fine powder or substance. Rober said he also tried the experiment with glass beads, which worked well. However, when the air supply is cut off, the sand locks into place, returning to its natural state.

Take a look at Rober explaining liquified sand:



It looks like it could be fun, but also pretty messy.

Rober also conducted an experiment involving a swimming pool filled with Orbeez. You can see that video below:

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We can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

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