Chapter 6, Problem 8P

The mysterious sliding stones. Along the remote Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, California, stones sometimes gouge out prominent trails in the desert floor, as if the stones had been migrating (Fig. 6-18). For years curiosity mounted about why the stones moved. One explanation was that strong winds during occasional rainstorms would drag the rough stones over ground softened by rain. When the desert dried out, the trails behind the stones were hard-baked in place. According to measurements, the coefficient of kinetic friction between the stones and the wet playa ground is about 0.80. What horizontal force must act on a 20 kg stone (a typical mass) to maintain the stone’s motion once a gust has started it moving? (Story continues with Problem 37.)

Jerry Schad/Photo Researchers, Inc.

Figure 6-18 Problem 8. What moved the stone?