The process of a liquid changing into the solid phase
Questions tagged [freezing]
121 questions
59
votes
4 answers
How strong is the force of ice expanding when freezing?
Why does water contract on melting whereas gold, lead, etc. expand on melting? reminded me about something I've been wondering myself for some time.
We know that water expands as it freezes. The force is quite formidable - it can cause solid steel…
Vilx-
- 3,501
53
votes
3 answers
Why is ice made from boiled water clear?
A common trick to make clear water ice is to boil pure water prior to freezing it. Why does that work and what are the white inclusions in ice that was made from unboiled tap water?
DK2AX
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48
votes
4 answers
What is the status of Mpemba effect investigations?
There is this puzzling thing that is called Mpemba effect: paradoxically, warm (35°C) water freezes faster than cold (5°C) water. As a physisist, I've been asked about it several times already. And I have no definite answer to that, apart from the…
Kostya
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38
votes
5 answers
How does defrosting your freezer save energy?
I've been told I should defrost my freezer to save energy, wiki, here and here for example, but none of the linked sites is a peer-reviewed paper explaining why (the wiki article doesn't even have references), and I don't find it obvious. I don't…
Santropedro
- 1,436
34
votes
7 answers
Why are snowflakes symmetrical?
The title says it all. Why are snowflakes symmetrical in shape and not a mush of ice?
Is it a property of water freezing or what? Does anyone care to explain it to me? I'm intrigued by this and couldn't find an explanation.
user1575
30
votes
5 answers
How does the freezing temperature of water vary with respect to pressure?
I know when the pressure is reduced, the boiling temperature of water is reduced as well. But how does the pressure affect the freezing point of water?
In a low-pressure environment, is water's freezing temperature higher or lower than…
Marwan Doumit
- 403
21
votes
1 answer
Why isn't the surface of this frozen iced tea smooth?
Why is the surface of the iced tea in the pictures below so uneven?
To give more details, today I tried (and failed) making iced tea.
I placed a cup of hot water, after removing the tea bag, in my refrigerator's freezer (so that it will cool…
Shay Ben-Moshe
- 448
20
votes
8 answers
Why does ice form on bridges even if the temperature is above freezing?
So with this "arctic blast" continuing, I've noticed that for my area, the temperature drops below freezing just long enough to cause freezing rain, but then the sun comes out and the temperature rises immediately. However, on bridges, ice continues…
anon
19
votes
4 answers
Freezing water: in layers or all at once?
(First question here on physics, hope it is OK)
Since it is getting cold here in Berlin, Germany and temperatures are falling below the freezing point, we want to make a little ice rink in our back yard (for regular shoes, we just want to slide over…
topskip
- 301
16
votes
4 answers
Thermodynamics of supercooled water
Now that it's been freezing outside for the last few days, I experimented a bit with supercooling. I've left a bottle of clean water outside for a few hours, and behold, when I shook the bottle, the liquid began to freeze rapidly, as expected.…
kikuchiyo
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14
votes
1 answer
Why does hitting a cold bag of water freeze?
About 24 hours ago, I bought a box of 30 pieces water ice. I put them in the freezing compartment and when I came from work I was expecting a nice chilling ice.
But when I opened the freezer, I saw through the shrink wrap that almost all bags are…
Zaibis
- 1,299
12
votes
3 answers
Can water at absolute zero still be liquid?
We see this interesting phenomenon with water bottles in cold chillers left undisturbed for a long time; the water within remains a liquid, but a small kinetic shock, such as a tap, shake or pour, causes the water to freeze rapidly before our…
ConnieMnemonic
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11
votes
3 answers
How can water go below zero and still be liquid?
I recently had seen an interesting experiment where a water bottle could be placed in a freezer for a while and would retain its liquid state until someone tapped on it, where it would quickly crystallize into ice. The explanations that I have seen…
Alex Abramov
- 275
10
votes
3 answers
Why can't the ocean be frozen by blowing on it?
Early superhero comics often would magnify familiar experiences as the basis for super-powered feats even if completely scientifically flawed. Analogizing insect ability proportionately to humans, alleging gravity differential is sufficient to…
9
votes
3 answers
What causes this frost pattern on my windshield?
I was walking back to my car yesterday when I noticed the frost on the back windshield formed these long "straight" lines:
The temperature was about -10C and I was wondering what the mechanism behind these lines was (the horizontal lines I can…
Jspang
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