What happens if you boil water then freeze it?

Yep, as the Cody's Lab video above demonstrates, after a few minutes of boiling, water starts to form solid ice crystals, and is actually cold to the touch.

sciencealert.com - It's Scientifically Possible to Boil Water Until It Freezes Solid - ScienceAlert

What animal survives by itself?

Platypus are solitary animals for most of their lives, although they can sometimes be seen in pairs. Feb 12, 2021

Last updated Aug 6, 2022

What state is cheapest to live in?

Mississippi Mississippi is the cheapest place to live in the United States, with a cost of living 16.7% lower than the national average. It also...

Last updated Jun 6, 2020

Promotion

width="700″ height="414″ seamless="seamless" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen">

If you feel like having one of your fundamental beliefs thrown out the window, try this on for size - under the right conditions, you can boil water until it freezes solid.

Yep, as the Cody's Lab video above demonstrates, after a few minutes of boiling, water starts to form solid ice crystals, and is actually cold to the touch. Crazy, right?

So what's going on here?

First, let's run through the set-up, because under normal circumstances, you're not going to be boiling anything frozen any time soon, so put that kettle away. As the video explains, you need a pressure chamber, which uses a vacuum pump to suck out all the air in the area you're working with. Inside this, Cody sits a beaker containing 60 ml of room temperature tap water. A salt made from magnesium sulphate anhydrous and a bottle coated in calcium sulphate are also placed up the back of the chamber. These two substances aren't there to help the boiling-freezing process - they're to help absorb the water vapour so the pressure chamber isn't damaged by the build-up. A few pieces of solid calcite are then added to the water as 'boiling chips', which won't affect anything temperature-wise, but will help the water boil more smoothly.

Okay, now everything's ready to go.

Inside the pressure chamber, the water isn't going to be boiled by increasing the temperature - instead, it's going to be boiled by decreasing the pressure. As Cody explains, the boiling point of a liquid depends on both temperature and pressure, and the warmer the liquid, the higher the vapour pressure. At 100 degrees Celsius (water's normal boiling point), the vapour pressure is 1 standard atmosphere, or 0.101325 megapascal (MPa). At this point, water starts to evaporate and switch states from a liquid to a vapour (steam). At room temperature, water's vapour pressure is much lower, so it's stable and doesn't boil. Using these principles, you can put room temperature water into a pressure chamber, start removing the air (therefore lower the pressure), and after a few minutes, the boiling temperature will fall below the water temperature, and you get boiling without heating. "Theoretically, if I continue to lower the pressure, the water should continue boiling, and actually lose heat, because the water molecules bouncing around - the hottest ones, or the ones with the most kinetic energy - will leave as a gas, leaving the rest of them down in [the beaker] colder," says Cody. You can see in the video above that as the water boils, its temperature actually dips to freezing point. As the Physics Department at Harvard-Westlake School in California explains, when you boil water by lowering the pressure, the molecules that remain in a liquid state give energy to those that escape it as a gas. "Clearly, molecules existing in the gaseous state have more kinetic energy than those unable to overcome intermolecular weak forces," they explain. "Thus, as the boiling process proceeds, the liquid is constantly losing heat. Continuing to run a vacuum pump stops pressure of gaseous molecules from building up, allowing the boiling process to continue. … Eventually, the temperature of the liquid drops enough that it freezes." So there you have it. Watch the video all the way through to see Cody boil the water so solid, he can't even get it out of the beaker.

Physics, you are awesome.

H/T Digg

How much money can you save by living in your car?

Potential savings: $1,200 If you live at an apartment complex, you may have to pay for parking. It's also common to pay for parking if you work...

Last updated Aug 30, 2018

What is the most concealed carry position?

inside the waistband By far the most popular concealed carry positions are on or inside the waistband, because waistband carrying tends to work...

Last updated Jan 8, 2022

Promotion

What food Cannot get old?

Salt: non-iodized salt (like natural sea salt) lasts forever. But even iodized table salt has a pretty long shelf life—five years. Spices (dried):...

Last updated May 9, 2019

What happens if you read constantly?

Poor or degraded eyesight is often attributed to excessive reading. This may be so but is generally only true if you read when there is not enough...

Last updated May 10, 2020

Promotion

Which sibling is most likely to have anger issues?

Children who have older brothers become more aggressive over time, on average, than those who have older sisters. Older siblings with younger...

Last updated Jun 14, 2019

Promotion

What to cook that will last all week?

9 Sunday Dinners That You Can Repurpose All Week Long Creamy Lemon and Herb Pot Roasted Chicken. ... Better Broccoli Casserole. ... Blackened Fish...

Last updated Feb 14, 2020