The Dhaka Times Desk Great pyramids were built in ancient Egypt. How these pyramids were built without any technology at that time is a big mystery. Also, how were the large stones used to build the pyramids transported from one place to another? Research continues to unravel the mystery of the pyramids. A group of researchers has recently found the solution to the mystery of how ancient Egyptians transported huge stones.
Ancient Egyptian laborers used to push 2.5 ton heavy stones on large sleds over the desert sand to the pyramid building site. A sled vehicle is primarily a vehicle used for transportation on snowy or sandy terrain. It is operated by pulling or pushing. But due to carrying such heavy stones, the sand road became potholed during transportation and sand entered the sled car. This increases the weight of the car. It is supposed to disrupt transportation. But did the Egyptians fail?
They took very simple and very effective measures to solve this problem. They used water to drive sleds. You must be thinking, how can water be solved? The ancient Egyptians realized that it was easier to pull heavy objects on wet sand. So one would continuously pour water from the front of the sled car and wet the sand.
A painting on the wall of the tomb of Djehutihotep in Egypt shows many people carrying a heavy idol on a sled. A man pours water from the front of a car.
This wonderful information was discovered by a team of researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the 'Fundamental Aspects of Friction', abbreviated as FOM. The team was led by Professor Daniel Bone. These physicists modeled the Egyptian desert on two trays with heavy objects moving on sleds. Two trays, one containing dry sand and the other containing wet sand. Apparently, it is very difficult to drive in dry sand. But it is easy to run on wet sand.
They calculate the driving force and the hardness of the sand. They found that the driving force decreases at a rate proportional to the hardness of the sand. Adding water increases the hardness of sand. Because when water is added, the sand particles come closer. Wet sand is twice as hard as dry sand. So it is easier to sled over wet sand. FOM's findings are published in Physical Review Letters.
The research team says that this result will be useful in carrying heavy objects nowadays. This will give insight into the properties of porous materials such as pitch, concrete and coal. These substances account for 10 percent of the world's energy production. So this property of sand will play an important role in getting a complete understanding about them.
The pyramids stand as a testament to the great ingenuity of the Egyptians. Therefore, as much as we know about the process of making the pyramids will be useful to us. Because without machinery they followed simple calculations and simple scientific procedures.
Source: gmanetwork
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