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Monday, February 25, 2008

Water freezes below 0 deg Celsius

Interesting video showing water freezing in Newfoundland, Canada. The waves freeze upon impact!

Posted by Excel Eduservice at 08:05
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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Watching the interesting video makes me starting to question.....

Ice melts at 0 degrees Celcius. Water freezes at 0 degrees Celcius. So if I place a glass of water into a fridge with temp set at exactly 0 degree Celcius, will it turn into ice? On the other hand, if I place ice-cubes in the same fridge, will it start to melt?

Thanks
Jan

30 September 2008 at 1:50 pm
Excel Eduservice said...

O deg is the transitional state. If the ice has a temperature of 0 deg, and if you ADD HEAT to the ice, it will melt.

If the water is at 0 deg, and if you TAKE AWAY HEAT, it will freeze into ice.

If you have ice or water at 0 deg, and if if you do not add or take away heat, it will remain as ice or water, without melting or freezing.

30 September 2008 at 8:04 pm
Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for your answer.

Can I say that the waves turned into ice because it loses heat upon impact with the shore? In which case, can I also say that the shore must be at a temperature lower than 0 deg Celcius for the sea water to lose enough heat to turn to ice? I believe the salt in the sea water further lowers the freezing point, so can I deduce that the shore has be even lower than 0 degree Celcius since salt water freezes at a lower temperature?

Thanks
Jan

3 October 2008 at 12:06 pm
Excel Eduservice said...

Q:Can I say that the waves turned into ice because it loses heat upon impact with the shore?

A: Yes.

Q: In which case, can I also say that the shore must be at a temperature lower than 0 deg Celcius for the sea water to lose enough heat to turn to ice?

A: You are assuming it was sea water. The video was shot in Newfoundland, Canada. I am not sure of its exact location, but Canada is famous for its lakes. It could well be fresh water. Who knows?

In any case, the air temperature has to be much lower than 0 deg for it to freeze. Why the water in the lake (or sea?) does not freeze is due to the fact that the waves have a larger surface area that is exposed per unit volume, than the water that is in the lake/sea.

Q: I believe the salt in the sea water further lowers the freezing point, so can I deduce that the shore has be even lower than 0 degree Celcius since salt water freezes at a lower temperature?

A: I am quite sure the temperature is much, much below 0 deg for the waves to freeze, be it freshwater or salt water. Freezing takes time and a lot of heat has to be taken away from the water. A few deg below 0 probably won’t freeze the waves that fast.

3 October 2008 at 3:42 pm

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