7 Feb
2003
7 Feb
'03
1:12 a.m.
When I was a kid, I tried and tried to make an igloo of
packed cubes of
snow. I never could get one finished as once the walls started to curve
I couldn't get the layers to stick long enough to close the thing up and
complete it. An igloo is a very stable structure, but a half-finished
one isn't at all stable...
In boy scouts, we cheated. We used a plastic box to make the packed
cubes, and a spray bottle of water to make the blocks stick together. A
light misting on the top edge of a block, then press the next block down
onto it and hold for a second... igloo superglue!
It worked well enough to get the structure finished... alas we didn't
make it big enough for all of us in the troop to fit inside (10 of us?),
and the pushing and shoving that followed made quick work of tearing it
back down.
-chris
<http://www.mythtech.net>
7 Feb
7 Feb
1:23 a.m.
--- chris <cb(a)mythtech.net> wrote:
Having made an igloo as part of a survival course, I can say that
the real problem with making an igloo as a kid is that standard
midwestern snow is *not* the right stuff to use. Arctic/Antarctic
snow has a different grain and has different adhesion properties.
We saw-cut our snow blocks from wind-packed snow called "firn". It's
like handling styrofoam. Very light with lots of friction between
the blocks. Yes, there's still the instability problem of a half-
finished igloo, but it's not as much of an impediment.
-ethan
When I was a
kid, I tried and tried to make an igloo of packed cubes of
snow....
In boy scouts, we cheated. We used a plastic box to make the packed
cubes, and a spray bottle of water to make the blocks stick together....
7943
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7943
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cb＠mythtech.net -
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