• Cruxifux@feddit.nl
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    10 hours ago

    I wonder what kind of concrete you’d use because I feel like any type I can think of would be too brittle and would break apart during even the most careful excavation.

      • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
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        10 hours ago

        Not always.

        I would imagine for any significantly sized colony, molten metal would cool down and solidify too fast to cover everywhere; whereas concrete can stay liquid long enough to permeate everywhere.

        • plantfanatic@sh.itjust.works
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          10 hours ago

          The moisture would get sucked out of the concrete by the earth, and it’s not flowable that well. If you’ve made it like soup, it’s lost most of its strength when it cures already.

          A 1/2 hole in plywood gets filled by grout pretty fast, a dirt ant tunnel I would be surprised if it went more than a foot to be honest.

          • grue@lemmy.world
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            7 hours ago

            It seems implausible to me, too (as an engineer), but the article says what it says. I guess they must be using tiny paint brushes like an archeological dig in order to excavate it without destroying it.