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Sticky Rice Is the Key To Super Strong Mortar
lilbridge writes "For over 1,500 years the Chinese have been using sticky rice as an ingredient in mortar, which has resulted in super strong buildings, many of which are still standing after hundreds of years. Scientists have been studying the sticky rice and lime mortar to unlock the secrets of its strength, and have just determined the secret ingredient that makes the mortar more stable and stronger. The scientists have also concluded that this mixture is the most appropriate for restoration of ancient and historic buildings, which means it is probably also appropriate for new construction as well."
Based on experiences with my dishwasher, I can also predict that buildings made with oatmeal or cheese will also stand the test of time.
Many of which are still standing, 2000 years later.
I predict the common factor may be the concrete.
hth.
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I didn't know the critical ingredient was a mystery. Alton Brown from Good Eats explained the molecule quite well in the rice episode, and my immediate thought was "oh that must be why it was used in mortar for the Great Wall and such."
Ancient Chinese Secret
sounds like a job for the MythBusters!
So is this a good time to invest in California calrose growers?
"Common sense will be the death of us all"
Exactly! Rice doesn't grow on trees, you know!
China probably does.. I mean sure it has a billion people, but apparently it produces 25% of the world's rice.
which is totally what she said
Yeah, it is not like it grows in trees...
One main advantage is that it is easier to replenish than minerals. You can grow a field of rice, collect it and then grow it again next year. If you get a mineral (v.g. carbon) from a mine, the next year your only chance to get more carbon is to dig further. Also it helps capturing CO2 from air instead of adding into it.
DISCLAIMER1: I know rice is a plant but not a tree.
DISCLAIMER2: I am not saying that this mortar has no disavantages (old buildings may have survived a long time, but they used walls several times thicker than we have now; perhaps using it with moderns bricks is not useful. Anyway, an interesting idea.
Why can't
Yes, we do have enough rice.
We have enough food production that no one should go hungry.
People go hungry due to politics and poor distribution, not overall quantity of food.
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
You should see what we build our trailer parks out of.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Someone might be able to make a genetically modified version that grows on walls. That would be cool.
Remember to maintain your supply of
you'll shit bricks.
While bricks are awesome aesthetically (IMO), they are really only a good idea in very stable areas. If you are near fault lines like the West Coast of the US and are at risk for earthquakes, stay away from brick buildings. When the earth moves, you want to move with it. Smaller wooden structures are very good at that.
I support the Slashcott and will not be reading or commenting from 2/10/14 to 2/17/14. Beta is steaming pile of dog shit
You need to try sticky rice with mango - my mouth started watering as soon as I saw the title for this story just thinking about it. Sticky rice is for a lot more than sushi.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
...provide this information to BP?
Strange as it sounds, sticky rice with apples and peanut butter (and perhaps some cinnamon) is quite delicious as well. I'll be putting the mango on my to-try list, though...
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We could, but it doesn't matter -- we don't use lime mortar anymore. We use portland cement.
How MUCH sticky rice per how much lime, etc. Or how much purified additive? (Though adding cooked(?) rice, as the Chinese did, would probably end up inexpensive and may also add more strength as it collapses and forms voids, making a concrete foam structure.)
I was about to make a post complaining about the lack of useful information. But you beat me to it AND phrased it brilliantly. Kudos.
Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
You're wrong, I'm afraid. Although the rice used in Sushi is sticky, it's not what is generally called sticky/glutinous rice. Sticky rice is used in various Asian, especially Thai dishes, either with savoury food like pork, or as a dessert with fruit such as with mango or durian, and salty coconut milk.
Jack Daniels and broken dreams?
It is extremely rare these days to build a building with load-bearing brick walls. To go up more than a couple stories, the walls end up being ridiculously thick, and as a result ridiculously heavy. So you end up not just paying for lots more brick, but also for a much more serious foundation. Your labor costs also go way up, because bricklaying is time consuming, and harder to do well than you might think.
Most brick buildings are just a veneer, whether they're over concrete, steel, or wood. Wood is actually one of the hardest to do, because the wood tends to shrink over time while the brick tends to expand due to heat and moisture. The brick is tied back to the wood pretty regularly, so these changes can cause serious cracking if you don't design for it.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
People go hungry due to politics and poor distribution, not overall quantity of food.
Actually, we have the capacity to deal with poor distribution as well, so it all boils down to politics. Someone is deciding that people should starve to death.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Sticky rice is for sushi and sushi alone.
Ahh, no my friend, the best application for sticky rice is being steamed together with yummy chinese sausages and chicken, all wrapped up in a banana leaf...mmmm...sticky rice...
Speaking of possible industrial uses for Dim Sum foods, I propose shrimp dumplings as a universal lubricant. At least the darn things always are whenever they see me coming at them with a pair of chopsticks...
cc
"I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
Drizzle a little coconut milk over the top. Had this at a local Thai place, and now I want to make it myself. Just have to figure out how they got the mango to be a bit less sour...
The meek may inherit the earth, but the strong shall take the stars.
Mortar that's too strong is brittle, meaning it can easily crack. Rebar can rust and swell, breaking this brittle cement. The result is catastrophic. I learned this from a couple of masons who I was drinking with at a pub. They joke that because of some really bad decisions made by architects and structural engineers in the 1960s and 1970s, they have good job security. I had known from reading books on restoring historical masonry buildings (thanks Ian Cramb) that strong mortar such as portland cement and other more modern mixes are just too brittle to be used as mortar. Stones and bricks shift ever so slightly as they settle. This can cause cracks, large or small, in the brittle mortar, that wouldn't happen with a weak lime mortar. These cracks are the widened by water freezing and thawing, and sometimes plant life. But what my bar buddies told me is that what makes the problem even worse is the rebar used in concrete buildings until recently would slowly rust and swell, so the masonry would burst from the inside because it was so brittle. These mason fellows would chip out the remaining concrete or cement, clean and coat the rebar (but sometimes replacing it) with a protecting paint, and then re-apply cement or concrete. I've noticed this problem occuring in many places, such as subway stations and bridges in the Boston area. I have no reason to believe the problem is limited to this city.
Regarding Roman cements and concrete: pozzolana, otherwise known as hydraulic cement, was a mixture containing volcanic ash, specifically from mount Vensuvius. It has the ability to dry and set underwater. This 'secret' is said by many to have been lost for many centuries, but in fact was kept a 'masonic secret' by some masonic guilds for a long time. Yet the exact nature of this secret and its revelation are hazy.
Yes, blood was used as an ad-mixture to some Roman cements. I can't remember what benefit it added.
Some places add organic material to concrete, with a variety of results. Done correctly, it increases the strength of concrete. Done badly, it's a recepie for disaster. Using straw is certainly bad, but evidently hemp and possibly other materials can be used. Exactly what works under given conditions is not known to me. It may be another one of the 'masonic' secrets.