Abstract
THE correspondence on “Floating Stones” brings to my mind a phenomenon I often noticed about ten years ago, when my work caused me to spend a good deal of time on the upper reaches of the River Mersey, of patches of earth floating down the river on the surface of the water. This occurred during the early part of the ebb tide and on water obviously contributed by the river. I concluded that this earth was detached from the banks during the quiescent period of high water, and that the surface tension of the water was so increased by the strength of the effluents from the manufactories and other sources, that lumps of earth, often several inches in area and of appreciable thickness, were enabled to float. Unless the conditions have since changed, no doubt the same thing may still be observed.
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BRIGHTMORE, A. Floating Stones. Nature 61, 346 (1900). https://doi.org/10.1038/061346b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/061346b0
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