Is the world really running out of sand?
practical.engineering
Is the world really running out of sand?
1–10 of 218 posts
Re: Is the world really running out of sand?
#2Bonus points for articles that start with a tldr and don't try to bury the lead
Re: Is the world really running out of sand?
#3Really interesting video. This is the first time I have seen the (apparently entirely fabricated) idea that desert sand isn't suitable for construction challenged. I had definitely absorbed that idea into my consciousness without enough due diligence.
Re: Is the world really running out of sand?
#4Bonus points for articles that start with a tldr and don't try to bury the lead
FYI it's "bury the lede," a lede being the introductory section of a news story.
Re: Is the world really running out of sand?
#5Ironically, we just hit an entirely different "sand catastrophe" - https://mastodon.social/@mimsical/113232531800424706
> the crucibles used to create ingots of silicon which become microchips are made from an ultra-pure quartz sand -- and 70% of the world's supply comes from just one place in North Carolina [Spruce Pine]
Re: Is the world really running out of sand?
#6Ironically, we just hit an entirely different "sand catastrophe" - https://mastodon.social/@mimsical/113232531800424706 > the crucibles used to create ingots of silicon which become microchips are made from an ultra-pure quartz sand -- and 70% of the world's supply comes from just one place in North Carolina [Spruce Pine]
Essential node in global semiconductor supply chain hit by Hurricane Helene | 196 points | 50 comments | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41701862
Re: Is the world really running out of sand?
#7The book mentioned, The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization by Vince Beiser:
> The World in a Grain is the compelling true story of the hugely important and diminishing natural resource that grows more essential every day, and of the people who mine it, sell it, build with it--and sometimes, even kill for it. It's also a provocative examination of the serious human and environmental costs incurred by our dependence on sand, which has received little public attention. Not all sand is created equal: Some of the easiest sand to get to is the least useful. Award-winning journalist Vince Beiser delves deep into this world, taking readers on a journey across the globe, from the United States to remote corners of India, China, and Dubai to explain why sand is so crucial to modern life. Along the way, readers encounter world-changing innovators, island-building entrepreneurs, desert fighters, and murderous sand pirates. The result is an entertaining and eye-opening work, one that is both unexpected and involving, rippling with fascinating detail and filled with surprising characters.
* https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36950075-the-world-in-a-...
Re: Is the world really running out of sand?
#8Ironically, we just hit an entirely different "sand catastrophe" - https://mastodon.social/@mimsical/113232531800424706 > the crucibles used to create ingots of silicon which become microchips are made from an ultra-pure quartz sand -- and 70% of the world's supply comes from just one place in North Carolina [Spruce Pine]
Essential node in global semiconductor supply chain hit by Hurricane Helene | 196 points | 50 comments | https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41701862
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Re: Is the world really running out of sand?
#9This issue has been discussed here in the past.
One example:
Re: Is the world really running out of sand?
#10Bonus points for articles that start with a tldr and don't try to bury the lead
FYI it's "bury the lede," a lede being the introductory section of a news story.
I would argue that there's no reason to continue misspelling "lead" as "lede" outside of a context where you are worried about conflating the "lead" paragraph with the "lead" piece of metal which was used as a spacer between words in a Linotype machine