2007-01-02 08:13:07 · 7 answers · asked by Jessy 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Almost all the cloudiness in ice is air.
Ice is less dence than water, so in your ice tray (or a lake) small ice crystals float to the surface. They accumulate and freeze together, forming a solid barrier with liquid water beneath. In nature, this is often enough to insulate the water below from the atmospheric changes in temperature and keep it from freezing altogether (the ground a few meters down is pretty much always the same temperature, so it doesn't directly freeze much of anything).
In your ice tray, however, the rest of the water continues to freeze. Now most water has a certain amount of dissolved air the crystalline structure of ice does not permit this. So the air ends up trapped in a bunch of very small bubbles. Saw an ice cube in half and magnify the surface and you'll see this. Or, if that's impractical, you can always note that it is the CENTRE of an ice cube that's cloudy, not any of the sides.
These air bubbles change the nature of the resulting ice, making it much more brittle as well as less transparent. The ice may also snap or crack as it melts (say, in your glass of soda). As a result some commercial ice producers either specificially include it (for people who like to chew their ice) or resort to other freezing methods which produce entirely clear and much harder solid blocks.
If you want to make clear ice in your freezer, you need to freeze it VERY slowly, or constantly agitate the tray so an ice crust never forms. A metal tray helps, too - it makes it easier to freeze from the bottom up instead of the top down.
Hope that helps!
2007-01-02 08:34:16 · answer #1 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ice is cloudy when it freezes due to the impurities in the water like salt, lime, etc. If you freeze distilled water you will notice that the ice cube is totally clear!!! You should also note that PURE WATER does not freeze until -40 degrees farhenheit!!!!
2007-01-02 08:16:25 · answer #2 · answered by vag86 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
when water freezes the water molecules spread out (that why an unopened bottle will burst open) as it expands and freezes air bobbles get caught giving it the cloudy appearance
2007-01-02 08:18:19 · answer #3 · answered by Miriam M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you use hot water in the ice tray you will get clear ice.
2007-01-02 08:20:21 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
its the air in the water. if you agitate the water while its freezing it will stay clear.
2007-01-02 08:15:22 · answer #5 · answered by ... :) 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
the particles that are in it fog it up but you cant see it when it is a liquid
2007-01-02 08:17:31 · answer #6 · answered by adam 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
physics
2007-01-02 08:21:08 · answer #7 · answered by kallmetigger 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋