Talk:Sand/Archive 1

Archive 1

Untitled

This article clearly states that sand is defined by size, not composition. But then it says "Sand is the principal component in common glass," which implies that sand is composed of a specific material. I am aware that silica is the most common component of sand, but not all sand has silica, and saying simply that "Sand is the principal component in common glass," is not accurate. It needs to be clarified.

Untitled

I deleted the somewhat silly entry "People, especially children, love to play with sand on a beach or in a sandbox. On beaches they make a mountain, a pit, canals, tunnels, a statue, a building (such as a sand castle), etc." as being not very encyclopedic. Would anyone interested in mountains and buildings (links in sentence) really want to know anything about this (beach play) aspect or vice versa? After all, there is probably no limit to the images one could make out of sand on a beach. But this is a collaborative effort, and one man's silliness is probably another's encyclopedia. I'm not hard-nosed. I suggest delete, but leave that to others to decide / Marshman 23:15, 6 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Playing is one of the common applications of sand and worth mentioning. Playing is not silly, no need to declare it a taboo subject. - Patrick 23:43, 6 Aug 2003 (UTC)

I've been giving it some thought and a sub-heading of uses of sand could be made with this one aspect. Others could be manufacture of concrete, beach replenishment. I'm confident that as the encyclopedia grows, items will sort themselves into proper articles / Marshman 04:24, 7 Aug 2003 (UTC)

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Grain size says sand is in the range 0.063 - 2 mm. - Patrick 07:57, 14 Aug 2003 (UTC)

I see the disagreement. Let me check into it further. Thanks - Marshman 08:19, 14 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Outside USA, ISO 14688 grades sands as fine, medium and coarse with ranges 0.063 mm to 0.2 mm to 0.63 mm to 2.0 mm. This should be explained first. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mistersumner (talk • contribs) 19:11, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

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I'm not sure that you can grow watermelons in the sand itself. Maybe this part could be moved to something like sandy soils? --Nk 16:17, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I think you are right. I will move down to the subsection "uses", but eventually, a sandy soil could be developed. Right now, the soil article is in its infancy - Marshman 17:01, 6 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Formation of sand

Could someone describe the process of sand formation?

See James Trefil, "The Scientist at the Seashore", Scribner's, 1984, for more about sand formation and myths about it. 158.42.166.96 15:26, 11 January 2006 (UTC)DvD

Reading [this] article, I found a connection to foraminifera - could some please elaborate on this? - PvL 5/5/2005

Yes. Good idea. The article needs this aspect. I'll see what I can contribute. - Marshman 01:02, 5 May 2005 (UTC)

Hello my name is bob — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.237.204.29 (talk) 23:42, 24 September 2018 (UTC)

Help me!

Does anyone know how purple/violet/blue sand is formed on otherwise normal yellow-sand beaches? I have been digging the net for one hour and not a clue ...

C'mon. You need to provide a bit more information than that. Where is this purple and? Who said it is purple? There are probably no blue sands, but maybe something close. Your question is so vague I'm going to assume (ass of you and me) you are joking unless you can define a few terms like "normal yellow". - Marshman 04:48, 6 May 2005 (UTC)

Sorry Marshie, I swear that every perceptive individuals who walked the beaches of the Baltic and the Black Sea will know the difference between yellow and violet sand (I used the word "purple" because it is more often seen on the net). It is too obvious to miss. In other words, the definition of the problem is sufficient for those "in the know"

Your question seems to be saying that all the beaches in this area are yellow (normal yellow). but in some places this sand is replaced by or covered by or mixed with violet sand; is that right? - Marshman 17:40, 6 May 2005 (UTC)

apparently it turns purple in British Columbia at least. [1] California too. [2] I know nothing about this and i've never seen it before, but it looks interesting. Ungtss 21:53, 6 May 2005 (UTC)

Just butting in here, 2 years later. The purple British Columbia sand is probably just the lighting or photoshopping; I've been to Spanish Banks, and don't recall seeing purple sand, and doubt if I'd forget if I did see it. But maybe it's caused by purple rain. bobanny 05:07, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

apparently volcanic sand can be purple. is that a possible cause? Ungtss 22:24, 6 May 2005 (UTC)

I think the example pictures are easy to explain. The beach photos from California are of a dark sand beach. The term "normal yellow" (which has not been defined here) does not apply in any sense. The sand here is the result of the breakdown of the local rocks, shown in the photos. The beach is a dark color, perhaps mostly black, but there may be a red chert or some similar mineral also being contributed. The combination of the reddish or red-brown grains and black grains looks purple under the right conditions. The photo from British Columbia is largely an artifact of the film and lighting conditions. The photo is of a light colored sand taken near sunset (sunrise?) when the sun's rays are filtered through atmospheric conditions that give a purplish coloration to shadows, and in this case, reflective surfaces too. Neither example is really one of purple or violet grains, but of the way the sand looks to the camera (and perhaps the eye): purple, yes - Marshman 02:25, 7 May 2005 (UTC)

In some places, the two kinds of sand mix. The purple sands seems to be washed out from some sediment in the dunes, but then it seems to be laid out in layers on a freshly formed beach (as if lighter than the yellow sand; depositing slowly). Some old fisherman mentioned "potassium permanganate", but that can be completely wrong. Sometimes, if you scratch the purple layer with a foot, it shows to be just 1-3 mm thick exposing wet yellow sand underneath.

Good observations. There is no doubt that sands from different sources get sorted differently by the waves. Think of the wave action as a very good sorting/sieving system. Each wave picks up the grains and then deposits them according to the energies applied to different masses (size and density). I've seen this many times where calcareous (white) sands are mixed with volcanic (dark) sands. The result is not an even pepper appearance, but sometimes dark under the light, or dark in rivulets across the light. Potassium permanganate is too soluble and too soft as a crystal to be involved in a sand. - Marshman 04:35, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

Dear Marshman, after reading your reasoning, it seems this sand must come from some older dune deposits. There must be some local people, fishermen, oceanographers, forest inspectors or agriculture experts who will know. While still on vacation, I will do my best to inquire and perhaps zero in on the answer. Milan

Yes, another possibility: that at higher tides the source of the sand is slightly different, producing in some seasons a layered effect. - Marshman 17:37, 10 May 2005 (UTC)

I am currently at the Baltic coast. Baltic is tideless (shallow). On close inspection, it is very clear that the sand can take all colors from yellow through pink to purplish via violet to black. The culprits are tiny black grains of some substance that looks like 0.1-0.3 mm graphite flakes. The bigger the dose of the grains, the darker the sand. The grains tend to deposit together, hence the clear yellow-violet separation. I have a snapshot of a clay cliff that seems to "leak" those grains, but I have no place to upload it for you in case you were interested to have a peek (the cliff is rather grim and ugly and it is said to host remnants of WW2, mostly aerial bombs, yet the grains producing violet color are not rust, and definitely not KMnO4 -- although a picture of KMnO4 at Wikipedia looks very similar to those flakes, which are definitely not soluble/reactive). The flakes must have some flat well-polished surfaces because they seem to beautifully reflect light when set at the right angle. Probably a physicist could explain how black&shiny admixture combined with mostly transparent grains produces those beautiful color effects. mc.

What people think of 'normal' coloured sand on beaches results from the quartz grains remaining whilst the other softer rock components (feldspar, mica) being disolved over time. It is possible to have a pure white beach (western Scotland) where there is only quartz with some mica flakes to reflect the sun. These beaches are as a result of the granite breaking down and being washed down river to the shore locally. Elsewhere the beaches may be more yellow in colour. This results from sandstone being broken down. The sandstone was originally formed with a significant iron content. In the Canary Islands, some of the beaches are black from volcanic rocks; others are sands blown from the Sahara. So all gfddhhgsegbnadsdRGSGHGFGYFHGFGHFJHRUYRFUcolours can be found. It all depends upon what rock broke down to form the beach sand. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mistersumner (talk • contribs) 19:07, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Green Sand

The green sand from this beach: Green Sand Beach in South Point, Hawai'i is made from the semi-precious stone called olivine. It's really more like an olive sand beach, but still cool. There is a vein of olivine running through the shore that is being eroded to replanish the frequently-pilfered sand. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.182.129.202 (talk) 22:59, 7 October 2008 (UTC) removed an idiot's comment 86.169.55.51 (talk) 23:01, 19 February 2009 (UTC)

Sand used in brick making

If somebody can help me on what is the conversion of sand, Cubic Meter to Tonne. The sand is normally used for brick manufacturing, Would it be m3 x 1.29 = ton ? or m3 divided by 1.29 = ton ?

Uses of sand

Is't sand used to make glass as well? Is it worth mentioning in the article?

No. Glass is unencyclopedic. Or something. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.94.21.101 (talk) 19:54, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

Need Help

I would like to know about the buoyancy sand causes in the ocean (Such as the Dead Sea).

You are confusing sand with salt. It is salt dissolved in the water that makes objects more bouyant as compared with fresh water. - Marshman 18:02, 29 November 2005 (UTC)

Hazards overstated

The hazards of sand use are grossly overstated in this article. I represent an emerging sand conglomerate from Indiana, and we've not experienced, or even heard of, any of the problems this article mentions.

the article simply states that there have been lawsuits, which is true. There are warning labels, which is also true. If you have never heard of this, then you need to educate yourself. Proper respiratory equipment is recommended. I hope your workers are using it. H2O 00:21, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

I agree with H2O. I see nothing that is "grossly" overstated, just stated. Of course if the lawsuits and hazard warnings are NOT true, then you have a point, but I have seen such warnings with regard to silica sand. I'm sympathetic to the extent that the warnings seem ridiculous for casual users of sand products, but you certainly must have heard of them before - Marshman 00:46, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Normal sized sand grains are not particularly hazardous, but applications such as sandblasting, where the abrasion creates tinier particles which can then be breathed, are quite hazardous. This silica dust bonds to lung tissue so firmly that it cannot be exhaled, and cause long-term damage. In the sand blasting field, much of the use of quartz sand has been curtailed for safety reasons, and black sand which is low-silica, ground slag, are instead substituted. Pollinator 04:20, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

Absolutely correct. My kids play in a sand box in my backyard (without a respirator). But many years ago I did a little sandblasting, and I absolutely, always, wore a respirator. H2O 06:45, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

And perhaps some of what you are saying Pollinator can be put in the article to satisfy that hazard is not being over-stated, by pinning down just where the hazard lies - Marshman 18:39, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

The functionality of our corporation is to collect and harvest sand from beaches in southern California, for transport to Hawaiian lava fields, for use in resorts as a beach substitute. The subjects discussed in this article should never encompass the use of silica and so forth. Sandblasting "sand" is not sand at all, but finely engineered pellets. Sandblasting operations are completely unrelated to sand, in the traditional sense. This should be addressed with a disambiguation page or some such mechanism.

You need to sign your articles. I think we all agree that something providing a sense that normal silica sand is not hazardous to people (and that would be espcially true in a use such as you describe). But to say sand-blasting is unrelated to sand seems more than a bit odd. Sort of like insisting it is not guns that hurt people but bullets. Of course it is the resulting fragmentation to fine dust that is the health hazard with silica sand, but sand (whatever the source) certainly is the product used in sand-blasting. Sand refers to a range of grain size, not just the stuff found on California beaches.

My apologies. You need to sign your articles, too. I just think it should be made more clear in the article itself, lest we spread panic. Everyday beachgoers should not have to worry about their health when they go to soak up the sun. (Barring Cancer.)216.70.249.98 22:00, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

That was dumb of me! - Marshman

My take on this is that no one disagrees with what is being said, but that people might get the wrong impression. Would anyone object to this wording? kotepho 07:50, 9 March 2006 (UTC):

While sand is generally harmless one must take care with some activities involving sand such as sandblasting. Bags of silica sand now typically carry labels warning the user to wear respiratory protection and avoid breathing the fine silica dust because of this. There have been a number of lawsuits in recent years where workers have sought damages after they developed silicosis, a lung disease caused by inhalation of fine silica particles over long periods of time. Material safety data sheets (MSDS) for silica sand state that "excessive inhalation of crystalline silica is a serious health concern" [3].

People have been severely injured and even killed after digging sand "caves" in large dunes, sandhills, or on beaches when the cave or tunnel collapsed upon them.

sounds fine to me. H2O 14:29, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Me too. I made some minor changes - Marshman 23:30, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

I've gone ahead and updated the section. If no one objects I think we can remove the POV tag. kotepho 00:48, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

What sand feels like - gritty when rubbed between fingers

The Pleasures of Soil Watching (page 2 col 2 bottom) delightfully makes grain size tangible by telling what they feel like. "The first three terms -- sand, silt, clay -- stand, respectively, for (1) coarse mineral grains (sand particles are 2 to 0.05 millimeters...) which feel gritty when rubbed between the fingers; (2) medium fine particles (silt grains are 0.05 to 0.002 mm...), which feel like flour; and (3) very fine particles (clay particles are less than 0.002 mm...), which feel sticky when wet." (duplicated from Talk:Grain size)

Arenology

(This relates to the following question. On page 236 of 'How To Read Water', Tristan Gooley has the first sentence of the first paragraph: "Studies have revealed that each patch of sand in the world is unique, which may go some way to explaining why we have a word for sand collectors - arenophiles - those who are gripped by its endless variety.") — Preceding unsigned comment added by 178.245.238.222 (talk) 15:01, 30 September 2016 (UTC) Can anyone else verify that the study of sand is called 'arenology'. I can't find the word in any dictionaries and most web uses are derived from Wikipedia. The arenology article here has twice been deleted, original for being an unreferenced hoax / original research. There is some support that the word might not be a neologism at http://www.arenophile.com/ and we still have an arenophile stub. There is also the word 'Arenose', meaning sandy or full of sand, but the only etymology I could find for that, suggested it came from a Latin word 'arenosus' for 'arena sand'. I would have thought that suggests that arenology would more accurately be the study of arenas. -- Solipsist 11:15, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

The OED has a number of aren- words to do with sand, but no recorded instances of arenology. Pseudomonas 12:52, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

Harena or Arena is the latin word for sand at least according to Notre Dame[4] - Arch NME 04:07, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

California State University offers classes in the study of sand, called "Sands-Arenology" [5] — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jungleback (talk • contribs) 02:33, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

Paver Sand

Can anyone help me understand the difference between regular "Play Sand" and "Paver Sand?". I am building a patio and I am trying to find out which sand to use. The price is almos identical with the paver sand being about 5% more expensive then play sand.

- Dan ----

I found this reference to "paver sand" and thought it might be a good place to put it:

What is Paver Sand?

Paver sand or "sharp sand" is a course sand that has multi-sized grains. This type of sand is designed to bind together when compressed. Paver sand is used under landscaping pavers for driveways and patios. This will make the joints between the pavers more solid and prevent moisture from getting under the pavers. The problem with using fine "play sand" is that it will wash out easily and not create a locking friction joint between the pavers.

Biogenic and Abiogenic Sand

I noticed there is no mention on this page of Biogenic sand. I thought someone might want to add something about it. I was more looking for information on it than anything else though. Here's a link[6]to another site that has a tiny bit of info.

I'm curious to know what the ratio of this biogenic sand is in the world, specifically in the inland deserts rather than coastal beaches or if all that sand comes mostly from erosion. Any info anyone could add to this wiki on the subject would be appreciated. - Arch NME 03:30, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

??

What are these "fun facts". It speaks nothing of what sand is. I might do as well saying that, "I have a friend who likes sand." The formation of sand should, as has been discussed, be in here. In fact it may be the only thing of relevance if included. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 139.182.9.150 (talk • contribs) 02:18, 2 June 2007

Pic

i would imagine someone somewhere has a picture of sand.

What is the scale on these close-ups of sand grains? Thunderbird2 10:30, 9 July 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure what you're looking for. I took the one at the top; it's just plain old beach sand. My guess would be that it's medium grain according to the article, or 1/4 to 1/2 mm, which is 2:1 on the particle scale mentioned in the article. But I didn't measure anything. bobanny 05:00, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

I just meant how many centimetres are there across the whole image? Judging from your description it sounds like it must be between 1 and 2 cm across. Do you think that would be useful information to include in the caption? Thunderbird2 12:23, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

That sounds about right, so I added it. Not very precise for encyclopedic info, but it's probably useful to give the reader an idea of what they're looking at. bobanny 16:03, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

thanx Thunderbird2 18:17, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

Not a lot of sand in this image below. May I replace it with a better one? Wilson44691 (talk) 01:44, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Yes - replace away. Vsmith (talk) 02:32, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Good change. Vsmith (talk) 01:39, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

hi my name is sand lol —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.209.70.162 (talk) 22:50, 7 October 2008 (UTC)

Number of grains on Earth

When dealing with large numbers, people sometimes compare to the total number of grains of sand on Earth. I think it would be useful to have this number mentioned in the sand page. I've done some looking around, but haven't found a standard value used. This guy [7] claims 10^20 to 10^24 grains, but he doesn't say how he got that, and the range is so large as to not be useful. This book [8] calculates about 10^26 grains. With this large of a range I don't feel comfortable adding to the page, but if someone else can find a consistently used value it would be nice to add it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.135.118.171 (talk) 21:59, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

My goodness, I think it would be very difficult to get any sort of number. One would need to know all of the grain size distributions in soils across the world (and their volumes), the volumes of all sandstone bodies, and the volumes of all of the river deltas extending into the ocean, etc. A back of the envelope calculation gives 10 million grains of about 0.5 mm diameter sand in a 1-liter volume, which should get the the "quite a lot" point across. Awickert (talk) 08:52, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Are sand grains uniform in size?

I have noticed that in large sand deposits, such as sand left by water on beaches and riverbanks, and sand left by wind in sand dunes, the particles seem fairly uniform in size - there is not a wide range of particles as is found in mountain scree slopes. I assume this is due to the fluid mechanics of the deposition process. Perhaps someone could add more to the article about the natural processes that create deposits of sand, and how uniform sized particles are selected for. --Chetvorno^TALK 23:30, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

It is for a number of reasons. First, by definition, when you limit yourself to sand, you're in a 31/16-millimeter range. But if you mean environments in which, out of all possible grain sizes, sand is represented exclusively, it can be because the source material is small or (like for dunes) that material larger than fine-grained sand generally can not be transported. The size of materials on beaches can vary, there's more to do with the source there. I'll see if there's anything I can add. Awickert (talk) 08:43, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Thank you, sir. --Chetvorno^TALK 02:47, 29 July 2009 (UTC)

Sand inside normal products

no mention of sand being used in food and in skin creams and tooth-paste (whiting), sand is in everything! u might be surprised in what products it's being used. Markthemac (talk) 20:45, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

Sand formation

Why is sand only found at the beach? And why is sand that is inland only associated with either rivers (which may be analogous to the beach, ie, near water) or, paradoxically, in deserts, where there is no water? And how does the process of desertization form the sand? How does the sand appear where there was formerly fertile land? These are the kinds of questions the answers to which I was looking for, but don't appear in this article. Perhaps someone who knows the answers can fill in. Thanks98.170.199.167 (talk) 05:42, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

If you're looking for specific answers, I recommend asking at the reference desk. If you find any reliable sources that help answer these, then we could certainly add them here. Qwyrxian (talk) 05:55, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

Builders Sand, Sharp Sand...

"Sharp sand is a mix of ungraded, coarse sands often with small (sharp) rock chips in it. Good for balast, concreting, and not much else.

Builder's sand is mostly an ungraded product. It is used for a wide variety of purposes, especially in construction (i.e., for ballast, for good drainage when laid under brick paving, or mixing with cement to make morter). Builder's sand may also be mixed with heavy (clay) soils in the garden to improve drainage. Sometimes called "soft" or "orange" sand in the trade, to distinguish from sharp sand.

Masonry sand is a graded variant of builder's sand, rather better for bricklaying and patios. Also called bricklayer's sand.

Silver sand is a mix of graded sand and fine loam; it can be used for bricklaying (light coloured morter), top-dressing lawns, patio concrete and (sometimes) instead of playsand.

Playsand the softest and most graded sand available. The only one really suitable for sandpits."-169.244.136.38 (talk) 18:33, 7 September 2011 (UTC)

File:Sable de Kalalau - Hawaii.jpg Nominated for speedy Deletion

An image used in this article, File:Sable de Kalalau - Hawaii.jpg, has been nominated for speedy deletion at Wikimedia Commons for the following reason: Copyright violations What should I do? Don't panic; deletions can take a little longer at Commons than they do on Wikipedia. This gives you an opportunity to contest the deletion (although please review Commons guidelines before doing so). The best way to contest this form of deletion is by posting on the image talk page. If the image is non-free then you may need to upload it to Wikipedia (Commons does not allow fair use) If the image isn't freely licensed and there is no fair use rationale then it cannot be uploaded or used. If the image has already been deleted you may want to try Commons Undeletion Request To take part in any discussion, or to review a more detailed deletion rationale please visit the relevant image page (File:Sable de Kalalau - Hawaii.jpg) This is Bot placed notification, another user has nominated/tagged the image --CommonsNotificationBot (talk) 12:56, 13 April 2012 (UTC)

Why is Sand locked?

Why in the world is a Sand locked? It's not like this is a hot button issue, or something in pop culture, it's just sand! I see a mistake and I can't fix it because the article is locked. It's ridiculous that this is locked. Unlock it!--74.240.238.238 (talk) 18:25, 25 July 2012 (UTC)

The article is only move protected (that is it can't be moved to a new title except by an admin - normally due to spurious moves at some point in its history). You should have no problem editing it. Mikenorton (talk) 20:36, 25 July 2012 (UTC)

That protection has also now been removed - it had been there since 2008 apparently, so edit away. Mikenorton (talk) 22:02, 25 July 2012 (UTC)

Too many pics?

I think there are too many pictures, resulting in a very cluttered appearance for the page. So I am thinking of hiving some off to a gallery section at the bottom, and removing others altogether (such as the train). But I'll wait to see if others have thoughts.—A bit iffy (talk) 17:32, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

I went bold and removed images that appeared less relevant to me (subjective selection, off course, but images were obviously too many). Materialscientist (talk) 03:13, 28 July 2012 (UTC)

Good - much easier on the eye.—A bit iffy (talk) 17:31, 28 July 2012 (UTC)

Sand and stars

A question that intrigues is to ponder a comparison of the number of stars in the universe (billions per galaxy, times billions of galaxies) to the size of an area containing an equivalent number of sand particles. A beach, a desert, the entire earth?- the answer would be very approximate of course, but a ballpark image would satisfy the imagination, and could go in the article. Anybody know? JohnClarknew (talk) 04:42, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

Seems this question has been asked many times. Here's one person's answer, which appears to be the most intelligent I've come across: [9] JohnClarknew (talk) 16:20, 22 August 2012 (UTC)

Do your own research. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Doors777 (talk • contribs) 12:47, 29 March 2015 (UTC)

Copyright problem removed

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Semi-protected edit request on 2 January 2016

Here is an additional external link to a sand collector website with lots of informations about sand samples, including pictures and maps.

• Sand Collection of Daniel Helber

Sandsammler (talk) 12:42, 2 January 2016 (UTC)

Not done: see above. Cannolis (talk) 13:08, 2 January 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 29 December 2015

Additional external link:

• Sand Collection of Daniel Helber

Sandsammler (talk) 11:56, 29 December 2015 (UTC)

Not done: how does a link to somebody's sand collection in any way useful Cannolis (talk) 13:29, 29 December 2015 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 14 January 2016

Sand is often the color of the old coral that lies deep underneath the ocean. Izzy myers (talk) 16:35, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. --allthefoxes ^(Talk) 16:55, 14 January 2016 (UTC)

Assessment comment

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Sand/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

* Needs references. -- Paleorthid (talk) 07:15, 24 November 2007 (UTC) Would benefit from expanded perspective. The opening "As used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625..." is made from a narrow perspective. Other disciplines are involved and the size definition varies between nations as well as between disciplines. -- Paleorthid (talk) 07:15, 24 November 2007 (UTC) indications of importance >1000 articles Category:Wikipedia CD Selection —Preceding unsigned comment added by Paleorthid (talk • contribs) 06:53, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

Last edited at 06:54, 30 November 2007 (UTC). Substituted at 05:24, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 October 2016

• Artificial islands in the Persian Gulf.

Angusandskye (talk) 16:08, 5 October 2016 (UTC)

Done — Andy W. (talk · ctb) 21:42, 5 October 2016 (UTC)

Misleading section on Composition

The following quote is misleading

'...The bright white sands found in tropical and subtropical coastal settings are eroded limestone and may contain coral and shell fragments ....'

.

Many very white tropical and subtropical are mostly comprised of quartz. There are some white-ish beaches for which carbonate material makes up a significant portion, but these are not the rule, nor even the norm.

The linked article used as support is clearly 'original conjecture' (no research noted). There are several instances in which the author confuses 'can be found in' for 'is mainly comprised of'. One place is the confusion over the pink beaches in the Bahamas....the red foraminafera which cause the beach to appear pink tinted, only make up a tiny fraction of the total beach material. That foraminafera are present is insufficient to draw conclusions about total composition. .

White beaches in low energy systems (Gulf of Mexico for instance) are typically rounded clear or white quartz. It is simple to test for carbonates. Addition of vinegar to carbonates will cause off gassing of co2. Most very white beaches don't have much carbonate, so there will be very little off gassing. .

2600:8807:8787:7700:B928:6CB9:9CEA:F6AC (talk) 14:04, 14 December 2016 (UTC)BGriffin

Sandbox template

@UpsandDowns1234 and Groiglery1217: Is there a consensus that this page needs to have the {{Not a sandbox}} template reproduced below?

It strikes me as an unattractive and distracting item on top of the article. If there were a pattern of people using the article as a sandbox it might be helpful, but I don't see that. Why do you see a need for it? Thank you.  SchreiberBike | ⌨  19:57, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

Fixed! UpsandDowns1234 (talk) 20:48, 8 March 2017 (UTC)

Sand for glass

This article clearly states that sand is defined by size, not composition. But then it says "Sand is the principal component in common glass," which implies that sand is composed of a specific material. I am aware that silica is the most common component of sand, but not all sand has silica, and saying simply that "Sand is the principal component in common glass," is not accurate. It needs to be clarified.

I've changed it to say that silica-rich sand is used. Mikenorton (talk) 20:17, 21 July 2017 (UTC)

Images

Until a recent edit, there were lots of pictures of individual sand grains, but only one that showed something of the extraction of sand. That picture, showing a quarry, has now been replaced by another picture of individual sand grains. That just seems excessive to me, and I reverted accordingly. That edit has now been reverted, so I'm asking for input from others concerning what exactly we should be showing in the images. Mikenorton (talk) 14:15, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

I noticed that this sand article did not yet include text about sand mining (although there is an external link to a New York Times magazine article) nor even link to the sand mining article. Perhaps a brief summary of the sand mining article could be added as a new section in this sand article (between the "Study" and "Uses" sections)? The quarrying photo (or similar) could then accompany such an added mining section? Also, the quarrying photo could be added to the sand mining article. Meanwhile, I have added the sand mining article to the "See also" section of the sand article. I think that the additional photo of individual sand grains that was recently added to the sand article is a good photo and deserves inclusion in this sand article. GeoWriter (talk) 19:24, 3 October 2018 (UTC)

"Sandiest" listed at Redirects for discussion

A discussion is taking place to address the redirect Sandiest. The discussion will occur at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2020 August 18#Sandiest until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. Steel1943 (talk) 17:51, 18 August 2020 (UTC)

Australia BS??

"They used up their own reserves and now import most of their sand from Australia."

This sentence is totally unsubstantiated. The reference only states that:

"Dubai imported sand from Australia, for example, to build the Burj Khalifa tower (Delestrac, 2013)"

200.68.142.70 (talk) 02:32, 13 January 2021 (UTC) baden k.

Reworded. (CC) Tbhotch^™ 04:12, 13 January 2021 (UTC)

Editing existing content for clarity

Before: It is defined by size, being finer than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of soil or soil type; i.e., a soil containing more than 85 percent sand-sized particles by mass Suggested edit: Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt.70.50.122.29 (talk) 23:57, 4 February 2021 (UTC)

I added the {{edit semi-protected}} template to the top of your message. Regards, DesertPipeline (talk) 11:24, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

That should be all set. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 16:29, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Featured picture scheduled for POTD

Hello! This is to let editors know that File:00065 sand collage.jpg, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for April 2, 2022. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2022-04-02. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Cwmhiraeth (talk) 10:45, 31 March 2022 (UTC)

Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles. This collage depicts samples of nine types of sand, in rows from left to right:

1. Glass sand from Kauai, Hawaii
2. Dune sand from the Gobi Desert
3. Quartz sand with green glauconite from Estonia
4. Volcanic sand with reddish weathered basalt from Maui, Hawaii
5. Biogenic coral sand from Molokai, Hawaii
6. Coral pink sand from Utah
7. Volcanic glass sand from California
8. Garnet sand from Emerald Creek, Idaho
9. Olivine sand from Papakolea, Hawaii

Photograph credit: Siim Sepp

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These properties make sand unusable for construction

The sentence is unclear unless you look at the footnote. Not sure how to incorporate the information  AltoStev (talk) 04:49, 20 June 2022 (UTC)