If you've ever driven along a gravel or dirt road in the summer, you're undoubtedly familiar with the "washboards" that develop. For those of you who have never encountered this phenomenon, gravel and ...

Driving on a dirt road can rattle the bones. Every foot or so, a ridge of dirt up to several inches high lies in wait to jolt passing cars and trucks and their hapless occupants. In many places, road ...

Just about any road with a loose surface -- sand or gravel or snow -- develops ripples that make driving a very shaky experience. Physicists have recreated this "washboard" phenomenon in the lab with ...