(CNN) Sand dunes are inanimate objects, so they don't think or feel, but they can communicate with their neighbors and let them know they need space, according to research published by scientists at Cambridge University.

The scientists made the discovery after putting two identical piles of sand in a special, 6.5 feet (2 meters) across rotating tank that generated enough water flow to move the particles.

Sand dunes are known to move around, or migrate, in rivers, oceans and deserts and smaller dunes generally move faster than larger ones, Karol Bacik, a PhD candidate in Cambridge's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics told CNN. He's the first author on the paper that has been reported in the journal Physical Review Letters

Bacik said he thought the two piles would move at the same speed since they were the same height and volume.

But that's not what happened.

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