3-D Cave model

[Scott McCrea]

This is cool!



It's a 3-D model of an ant hole. Here's more.
"Walter R. Tschinkel, from the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University pours orthodontal plaster down ant holes, and creates perfect molds of the topology of the inside of an ant-colony."

Pretty awesome sculpture, IMO. I would love to have a 3-D model like this of a cave. I know it can be done digitally, on a computer, but a physical, scale model would be great! Anyone know how it could be done?

[Adam Byrd]

[Phil Winkler]

Scott,

Think of all the ants that lost their home when the "mold" was removed to free that model!

Years ago I saw a 3-D model of a cave in Europe. It might have been Tiefenhohle in Liechingen in Germany. How it was done I don't recall, but it was certainly impressive.

Natural Bridge Caverns in New Braunfels, TX may have done something, too.

[Mike Cato]

Think of all the ants that lost their home when the "mold" was removed to free that model!

Um, Phil, I believe they were already a part of the model at that point.

[Phil Winkler]

Mike,

ROFL!!!!

[graveleye]

i saw that the other day and the first thing I thought was "those poor ants".

Then I remembered the incedent with the sugar bowl in the kitchen and was a little less sympathetic

That is pretty impressive though!

[hewhocaves]

if you surveyed a cave at something like 10' increments and got good cross-sections for each station, you would have a good start at the framework for a 3-D model. you could then build it in any number of ways either by hand or with machinery

[speloman]

That would be the pinnacle of cave mapping

[Dwight Livingston]

Scott

Great picture! And the article is a good read - thanks for bringing it here. I saw that the big model in the picture was made pouring molten zinc, done in stages because the zinc cooled before it reached the bottom. The author also used molten aluminum in other models. As he says, when pouring red-hot aluminum in the bottom of a hole, you can catch your socks on fire.

Dwight

[Marlatt]

Seems like a perfect application for stereolithography.

[George Dasher]

I was wondering what all the little rooms are for...

Sauna, hot tub, racket ball, kitchens, indoor pool, gym, TV rooms....

Heck! They might even have an indoor bowling alley.

Car garage, game room, bar...

[Ralph E. Powers]

Scott

Great picture! And the article is a good read - thanks for bringing it here. I saw that the big model in the picture was made pouring molten zinc, done in stages because the zinc cooled before it reached the bottom. The author also used molten aluminum in other models. As he says, when pouring red-hot aluminum in the bottom of a hole, you can catch your socks on fire.

Dwight

Well I'm wondering how he managed to get the aluminum/zinc /whatever down inside. Ants build water-proof chambers that go UP in case of floods to create air-pockets and can last for days on end. What happens with water (a liquid) would be the same with liquid alum/zinc/whatever!

Also the model wouldn't be wholly accurate. Walls and tunnels and rooms would be made up of loose dirt here and there and thus subject to collapses during the molding process.

Ok ok, nit picking... whatever.

Still the concept is pretty cool.

[bigalpha]

Ants build water-proof chambers that go UP in case of floods to create air-pockets and can last for days on end. What happens with water (a liquid) would be the same with liquid alum/zinc/whatever!

That's nifty, I never knew that. Whodaknew?