Tagged Questions
2
votes
0answers
43 views
How does a snowflake “know” to form symmetrically? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Why are snowflakes symmetrical?
Under ideal situations, a snowflake forms into near perfect hexagonal symmetry. How? For instance, when a water molecule moves towards ...
3
votes
3answers
509 views
Freezing point depression - cooling my drink with the same method as salt on a highway?
I understand that adding/sprinkling, say NaCl, on a highway depresses the freezing point by making any moisture on the road harder to freeze as the NaCl molecules get in the way of phase transition. ...
8
votes
2answers
405 views
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
752 views
Why did my frozen water bottle explode when I opened it after it defrosted a bit?
Last night I filled a 20 fl oz bottle (http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/beverages/soft-drinks/boylans-mash.asp) with lukewarm water from my tap. I filled the bottle pretty much to the brim, ...
9
votes
3answers
1k views
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 ...
12
votes
4answers
2k views
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 ...
