Why does ice crack when you put it in water?

Question

just curious.

Answer 1

There are several issues.

Firstly, ice is brittle - it is perceptible to cracking.
Secondly, ice is a poor conductor.
Thirdly there is thermal expansion to consider.

When ice is dropped into water, the outside of the ice will become very close to 0 Celsius (32 F), but the inside of the ice is at a lower temperature than this.

As the outer layer of ice has expanded, but the inner core has not, this sets up a high level of stress within the ice which leads to sudden brittle fracture.

BTW, the same thing happens to hot glass if you put it in cold water.

Answer 2

It'sdue to thermal stress. with the ice in the freezer of just sitting in air, the immediate neighborhood at the surface of the ice is pretty close to the temperature of the ice. When you toss it in the water, it gets a themal shock and cracks. It would be like taking a drinking glass from the freezer and pouring boiling water into it.

Answer 3

Ice is less dense than water and consists of ice crystals. When it's dropped into the water it quickly takes latent heat of melting from the water and contracts very quickly resulting in the crackling sound as it begins to melt ..it's the ice crystals breaking down.

Answer 4

The shock associated with a rapid temperature change . Take a car windshield from a heated garage and drive out into a sun zero environment, you can get a windshield to crack as well.

Answer 5

I suspect it's because the water is warmer than the ice and it induces the ice to melt more rapidly resulting in it cracking.

Answer 6

Temperature