The Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes (1941) is a science book, written by Ralph A. Bagnold. The book laid the foundations of the scientific investigation of the transport of sand by wind. It also discusses the formation and movement of sand dunes in the Libyan Desert. During his expeditions into the Libyan Desert, Bagnold had been fascinated by the shapes of the sand dunes, and after returning to England he built a wind tunnel and conducted the experiments which are the basis of the book. The book is still a main reference in the field, and was, for instance, used by NASA for studying sand dunes on Mars. It was recently reissued by Dover.
Famous quotes containing the words physics, blown, sand and/or desert:
“Mathematics should be mixed not only with physics but with ethics.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Hast ever ben in Omaha
Where rolls the dark Missouri down,
Where four strong horses scarce can draw
An empty wagon through the town?
Where sand is blown from every mound
To fill your eyes and ears and throat;
Where all the steamboats are aground,
And all the houses are afloat?...
If not, take heed to what I say,
You’ll find it just as I have found it;
And if it lies upon your way
For God’s sake, reader, go around it!”
—For the State of Nebraska, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Unhappy is the man for evermair
That tills the sand and sawis in the air;
But twice unhappier is he, I lairn,
That feidis in his hairt a mad desire
And follows on a woman thro the fire,
Led by a blind and teachit by a bairn.”
—Mark Alexander Boyd (1563–1601)
“This ripe rebuke, this burgeoning affluence
Mocks me and mocks the desert of my bed.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)