How can I turn vodka into a solid?
If I boil it, and then cool completely, will it still be a liquid?
Is there any way to turn vodka to a solid?
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1$\begingroup$ I don't think you can freeze vodka. At the freezing point, you will get fractional crystallization, where the water in the vodka will turn into ice. At a low enough temperature, the alcohol in vodka will freeze. This means that both frozen phases will have different compositions, neither of which is vodka. $\endgroup$– David WhiteCommented Oct 1, 2019 at 2:16
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2 Answers
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Try freezing the vodka. The freezing point of ethanol (alcohol) is -114C, water freezes at 0C. Typical vodka is 40% alcohol and most of the remaining 60% is water so its freezing point is in between the two, typically about -27C. The exact temperature depends on the amount of alcohol in the vodka. As your freezer is only about -18C, vodka will not freeze in your freezer.
Boiling and cooling vodka will evaporate most of the alcohol, unless you make sure all components of the vodka (water, alcohol, etc) are kept and allowed to condense together. If the alcohol escapes, you end up with weaker vodka, and its freezing point will be closer to that of water, i.e. 0C.
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1$\begingroup$ @Mbo keep the vodka below the freezing point. $\endgroup$– AllureCommented Oct 1, 2019 at 0:10
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$\begingroup$ To re-emphasise what @Allure said: vodka will ONLY stay solid if you keep its temperature below its freezing point. There is NO other way. $\endgroup$– hdhondtCommented Oct 1, 2019 at 1:24
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$\begingroup$ @hdhondt technically, I think Vodka can also become a solid under high pressure. However, typical pressures required are so high it's unrealistic for most people to achieve. $\endgroup$– AllureCommented Oct 1, 2019 at 2:34
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$\begingroup$ @Allure good point. The pressure would be extreme though. The phase diagram has the solid phase line almost vertical. See engineeringtoolbox.com/… $\endgroup$– hdhondtCommented Oct 1, 2019 at 9:52
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Of course, vodka will freeze, but not at the temperature of an ordinary freezer. This is because vodka contains enough alcohol to lower the freezing point of water below the -17°C of your typical freezer. https://www.thoughtco.com/why-doesnt-vodka-freeze-3975987
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$\begingroup$ How can I keep vodka in a solid state? $\endgroup$– MboCommented Sep 30, 2019 at 23:50
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$\begingroup$ @Mbo: ice must remain frozen to stay a solid, or maybe you could make jello shots $\endgroup$ Commented Oct 1, 2019 at 1:05