Absolutely Incredible!!!! Instant Ice!

[alexthekidd]

Instant Ice

Watch this water freeze instantly. How does this work? Any crazy theories KB'ers?
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<embed src="http://www.collegehumor.com/moogaloop/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1755006" quality="best" width="400" height="300" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>

If it doesnt work the source is here:
http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1755006

[skidMark]

what t3h fook

[Finn]

It's called supercooling. If water contains relatively few impurities, it can be cooled to below its freezing point without crystallising. But if you disturb the water, it instantly crystallises.

[skidMark]

It's called supercooling. If water contains relatively few impurities, it can be cooled to below its freezing point without crystallizing. But if you disturb the water, it instantly crystallises.


whats that in english for us teenagers?

[alexthekidd]

whats that in english for us teenagers?

Found this

A liquid below its freezing point will crystallize in the presence of a seed crystal or nucleus around which a crystal structure can form. However, lacking any such nucleus, the liquid phase can be maintained all the way down to the temperature at which crystal homogeneous nucleation occurs. The homogeneous nucleation can occur above the glass transition where the system is an amorphous—that is, non-crystalline—solid.

Water has a freezing point of 273.15 K (0 °C or 32 °F) but can be supercooled at standard pressure down to its crystal homogeneous nucleation at almost 231 K (−42 °C).1If cooled at a rate of the order of 1 million kelvins per second, the crystal nucleation can be avoided and water becomes a glass. Its glass transition temperature is much colder and harder to determine, but studies estimate it at about 165 K (−108 °C).2 Glassy water can be heated up to approximately 150 K (−123 °C).3 In the range of temperatures between 231 K (−42 °C) and 150 K (−123 °C) experiments find only crystal ice.

Droplets of supercooled water often exist in stratiform and cumulus clouds. They form into ice when they are struck by the wings of passing airplanes and abruptly crystallize. (This causes problems with lift, so aircraft that are expected to fly in such conditions are equipped with a deicing system.) Freezing rain is also caused by supercooled droplets.

An equivalent to supercooling for the process of melting solids is much more difficult, and a solid will almost always melt at the same temperature for a given pressure. It is, however, possible to superheat a liquid above its boiling point without it becoming gaseous.

[alexthekidd]

Oh and bloody well done Finn, crazy stuff!!!!

[Finn]

whats that in english for us teenagers?

Okay but first, go stick your tongue onto the inside of your freezer and tell me what it tastes like.

[Ixion]

It's called supercooling. If water contains relatively few impurities, it can be cooled to below its freezing point without crystallizing. But if you disturb the water, it instantly crystallises.

Eh? You're right. But how do you know that?

[Finn]

Eh? You're right. But how do you know that?

PhD in Google.

[skidMark]

i'm gunna give finn green rep for that as it was the first non abusive post in quite a while, and it even had educational value!.