selective gravity

IanC · Mar 20, 2018

As a question relating to my rock picker picture I need somebody to explain the physics of rocks. Why is it that stones &/or rocks placed in the wet spots, and in the lane or driveway go DOWN, and the rocks in the field come UP? And the must breed, as there have been rocks being picked out of that same field for 60 plus years.

rrlund · Mar 20, 2018

There was a guy in high school ag class who said his younger brother thought they were caused by compaction since they turned up new ones every year. lol

jacksun65 · Mar 20, 2018

The ones in the driveway get pushed down and outward because of compression. I was told that ones in fields come up because of freeze and thaw cycles.

old · Mar 20, 2018

Most rocks are less dense then mad is so they float to the surface. Rock in the driveway do float up but the car/truck tires tend to push them back down some but when grading a driveway they tend to pop out because the blade pulls them up. Ina field they tend to show up because the rock you took out of the same area was what was holding down the rock you find this year.

donjr · Mar 20, 2018

Contrary to popular belief, rocks in a field are actually still growing. If you pick up a handfull of dirt, and examine it closely, you will find it is actually made of a huge number of small particles. These are actually stone seeds. Over many years, some of these begin to grow and become stones. Left alone for many years they become boulders. That's why there are more next year for picking and busting up machinery. And, when we fertilize, it makes them grow faster and bigger. So, for a higher stone yield, soil test and follow the recommendation for more rocks.....

steve706 · Mar 20, 2018

Your assumption is correct, but only for objects imbedded within the depth that frost goes. A good example of that cycle is how shells from the first and second world wars gradually work their way upwards after all these years and get plowed or cultivated to the surface in Europe.

wjytexas · Mar 20, 2018

geologic deep state. it's an illusion. all FAKE

Russ from MN · Mar 20, 2018

You must have a lot lighter rocks in MO than we do in MN! A cu. ft. of granite weighs 168 lb. a cu.ft. of wet clay only weighs 110 lb! Rocks come up because of frost.

Crazy Horse · Mar 20, 2018

Don ....... FINALLY a post that makes sense and that I agree with.

old · Mar 20, 2018

You better go back to school. I learned about how rocks float when I was working on building roads and you never see them put large rocks under a road way due to the fact they will float up and cause major problems with the pavement. By the way wet clay is not mud

Angle Iron · Mar 20, 2018

I have wondered if centrificle (sp) force from the rotation of the earth is too much of a reach to come into play on rocks constantly coming up.

David G · Mar 20, 2018

I really do not think so, my view is the freeze frost cycle and that we are constantly eroding the fields.

centash · Mar 20, 2018

They float up because of the frost.
Ben

Adirondack case guy · Mar 20, 2018

It all depends on compaction around rocks. In road beds there is usually a lot of compacted ground holding rocks in place. In a field, farmers strive not to compact soil, and frost heaves rocks up to the surface.
Around here we have a lot of frost heaving on rural roads. culverts rise because freezing temps can penetrate the tubes and many roads are not built on a base of solidly compacted soil, and big rocks work their way to the top of the road surface.
Loren

David Snipes · Mar 20, 2018

Time to develop a spray on stoneacide.

old · Mar 20, 2018

Yes but also due to mud being denser then the rock it self

Janicholson · Mar 20, 2018

When frost is coming in in the fall, or going out in the spring (now) the rocks are lifted by the freezing moisture in the mud. the water expands and pushes. the rock shrinks. Particles of soil filter down and under the tiny crack formed. When things thaw, the rock expands, and the water contracts. It is now higher in the soil than before. (Mud is a generic term that is applied to small particles with an amount of water that allows the mix to be "Plastic". From sturdy enough to drive on one time, to suck your boots off 1 foot deep clay, it is all lighter in mass than all solid rock. Exceptions are gas pocketed basalt, Steel mil slag, and pumice. Jim

wrenchere85 · Mar 20, 2018

I always thought that frost pushed rocks to the surface. Until I spent some time in Mexico, where they never get close to freezing. They picked rocks every year off the same field, and by the looks of the rock piles there. They have been doing it for a long time.

LA in WI · Mar 20, 2018

Angle,
I think you might have something there....just the other day I saw a rock slowly emerge from a field, then when it was all the way out it zoomed at a high rate of speed into the stratosphere. Don't believe this? Just go to a big airport and you will see lots of big dents in the noses of airliners.
LA in WI

donjr · Mar 20, 2018

We were OK around here until DDT killed all of the stoneworms.......

showcrop · Mar 21, 2018

I can't relate to Missouri, but here in NH our rock is far more dense than any mud. Mud is 25% water and here in NH none of our rocks float in water. (Wouldn't that be interesting?) We don't have lava rock or coral like they must have in Missouri. Frost action raises rocks a little every year because small particles drop down under the rocks in the void caused by the water freezing and lifting it. In the low wet areas, here in NH, you can go out in mid winter to a wet place, when most ground is frozen and easily dig a hole for a carcass. So rocks will slowly settle deeper in the mud. Stone walls will pretty much sink out of sight in wet places.

Grandpa's Fords · Mar 21, 2018

Let's face it fellas they are always where we don't want or need them. If you want them on a wall they are in the field. If you need them on your driveway they're in a truck being delivered from a quarry. If they're in the truck you want them on the driveway. They are sometimes big heavy and dirty and I can't pick them up anymore!!! In response to them being seeded we have many rock gardens in my area

Grandpa's Fords · Mar 21, 2018

I'm not sure if I was ranting about rocks or my grandchildren?

Blackhole49 · Mar 21, 2018

Once again, Old proves he doesn't now what he is talking about. Should stick to tractors!

dr sportster · Mar 21, 2018

The drug companies have spent a lot of money studying why large particles rise to the top and fine powders fall to the bottom of a mix. It is concluded gravity allows the smaller particles to fall past the larger ones .

selective gravity

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