Ilasn Beach and Granular Physics

A idle boat at the entrance of Ilsan beach

Today I visited Ilsan beach located in the south of the Republic of Korea, the atmosphere was soothing with a beautiful ambiance. I was passing through the coast and taking the pictures of surroundings. I notice two important phenomena quite familiar in Soft Matter Physics - (i) granular dilation and (ii) Hydrodynamic instability.

Ripples on the surface of the sand in the beach (hydrodynamic instability)

Human foot mark on the surface of the sand in the beach (Granular dilation)

I was amazed, though I went to sea beaches several times but never experience such joy. In granular physics, researchers are trying to understand the shear-induced expansion of granular material and the formation of ripples due to the granular flow. These serene observations are wonderful source of a quest for the researchers. Finally, I was also able to visualize the natural phenomenon that is well documented in the literature of Physics.

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