can the freezing point of water be raised?

Question

There are many substances that can be added to water to lower its freezing point but I have never heard of anything that raises it. Room temperature ice would be cool. (pun intended)

Answer 1

Without altering the pressure, probably not. The freezing point can be lowered fairly easily, because the impurities dissolved in the water make it more difficult for a crystal lattice to form. If you want to raise the freezing point, you need to make the lattice more stable.
In a sense, jelly (jello) is an example of this, but you have to add a lot, and it is really the gelatine which is holding it all together.

Answer 2

No, there is not something in any respect which could be accomplished to boost the freezing factor of water, purely decrease it. yet once you have not the rest to do of snowy evenings, you will attempt analyzing "Cat's Cradle" by using Kurt Vonnegut, a fictional account of what occurs whilst a scientist discovers a thank you to do it.

Answer 3

For normal ice, yes, by lowering the pressure. But the effect is tiny. Lowering the pressure from 1 atmosphere to 0.006 atmosphere increases the freezing point by 0.01C. Below 0.006 atmospheres liquid water does not exist (it boils instead).

For a phase diagram of water, see:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/aencmed/targets/illus/cha/T073590A.gif&imgrefurl=http://encarta.msn.com/media_461541579/Phase_Diagram_for_Water.html&h=328&w=556&sz=5&tbnid=BvfOs5tVY9UzxM:&tbnh=78&tbnw=133&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwater%2Bphase%2Bdiagram&start=1&sa=X&oi=images&ct=image&cd=1


Raising the pressure enormously can create exotic ice forms, like Ice VII, that can exist at high temperatures. See:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.es.ucl.ac.uk/research/pig/images/ice_phase_diagram.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.es.ucl.ac.uk/research/pig/pig/research.htm&h=313&w=300&sz=47&hl=en&start=15&tbnid=NkIMchGIlXy9xM:&tbnh=117&tbnw=112&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwater%2Bphase%2Bice%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG

Answer 4

Have you ever seen pressure cooker. Basically, water is boil at low pressure. Same principle, this time, rise the pressure high, then you could raise the freezing or boiling point.

Answer 5

Higher altitude, not lower. In fact, vodka will freeze (in a freezer) at high altitudes.

Answer 6

if you go to a lower altitude water will freeze at a higher temp because there is more atmospheric pressure