快猫短视频

A bed of rocks

Railway sleepers often sit on a bed of small stones that act as ballast. This ballast...

Railway sleepers often sit on a bed of small stones that act as ballast. This ballast material stretches well beyond the width of the sleepers and to quite a depth. But why does it have to be stones? Could anything else be used either physically or economically?

Peter Brigg, Queensland, Australia

We pay 拢25 for every answer published in 快猫短视频. To answer this question 鈥 or ask a new one 鈥 visit newscientist.com/lastword. Terms and conditions apply.

Topics: Last Word

More from 快猫短视频

Explore the latest news, articles and features