Cultivation of stalactites in computer

2005/01/14 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia

• Fisika

It equals where a stalactite grows; its appearance will not depend on it. In fact, some American physicists have investigated this and have developed a computer model that explains well the growth of stalactites.

The water that generates stalactite is dissolved in carbon dioxide and calcium carbonate, components of the limestone. Normally the water loses carbon dioxide, which increases the pH of the water, which causes the precipitation of the calcium carbonate, that is, the solidification.

Physicists have carried out a simulation of this process in the computer and have compared it to the stalactites existing in nature. In the simulation, the growth of stalactite depends on the falling water layer. And this idea has given very good results, since the computer model simulates very well the growth.