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The color of sand: Before and after drying

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The color of sand: Before and after drying
Posted by tstage on Monday, December 11, 2006 11:36 PM

I know that "green" sand is what they call sand before it is dried.  My question is: Is there a subtle or noticable difference in color between "green" sand and actual "dried" sand?  (Yes, I do know that it's NOT actually "green" in color. Smile [:)])

The dried sand that I've seen is fairly white in color.  I'm trying to model a distinction between the sand that is in the sand bunker next to the drying house and the sand that you see "spilled" around the sanding tower.  I'm just curious if "green" sand looks different in appearance than dried sand.  And, if so, how much?

I appreciate your insights...

Tom 

https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling

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Posted by tstage on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 1:48 PM

Hmmm...Have I "stumped the band"?

Tom

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Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 1:58 PM
Medium brown wet; very light brown dry.
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Posted by pcarrell on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 2:12 PM

If a picture is worth a thousand words........

Philip
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Posted by tstage on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 2:30 PM

Thanks, 1435mm.  Thanks, Philip.  That's what I kinda thought.

I picked up a small bag of inexpensive decoration sand from Michaels last night for a whopping $1.49.  The "green" sand is more yellowish in tint and the dried sand is fairly close to the light sand in Philip's picture above.  The yellowish sand will do in a pinch for now for green sand.  But I think I will keep my eyes peeled for something that is closer to a grayish "ecru".

Anyway, thanks for the input. Smile [:)]

Tom 

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Posted by tomikawaTT on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 7:51 PM

In an area with high humidity and frequent precipitation, spilled dry sand would revert to 'green' in pretty rapid order - like, overnight (thanks to morning dew.)

In my home town, even 'green' sand is pretty dry!  (It hasn't rained here for a while, and the humidity is usually a single digit.)

Chuck (modeling the lush forests of Central Japan in the dessicated desert)

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Posted by Shilshole on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 9:10 PM

For a soil sample (including sand) of a given color or hue, wetter samples generally have a lower value.  See this page for a good summary of probably more than you want to know about how soil colors are described.

A good part of my work at one time involved classifying soils in the field and lab according to their various properties, one of which was color.  The standard tool for describing soil color was/is the Munsell soil color chart, which is basically a bunch of paint chips with holes in them arranged according to their hue, value, and chroma.  An example for the Munsell color (hue) designated 10YR having different lightness (value) and intensities (chroma) is shown on the linked page.  Each paint chip is labeled according to its unique combination of hue, value, and chroma;  the chip in the upper right corner would have a label of 10YR (hue) 8/8 (value/chroma).  (Despite what the text on that page says, value increases toward the top, and chroma increases toward the right.)

Field samples invariably become lighter (i.e., show a higher value) and occasionally display a lower intensity (lower chroma) after they are dried in the lab.  For example, using the linked chart, a sample classified as 10YR 7/3 after drying could display as 10YR 5/3 or 10YR 4/4 in the "green" state.

[edit:spelling]

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