We are storing bottled water in a freezer to keep it cold, and when we take the bottles out of the freezer they then freeze to ice before your eyes. This happens faster when shaking or opening. The freezing occurs usually from top to bottom.
The bottles are not pressurized and the water is distilled drinking water.
What causes this?
2007-05-28 22:24:07 · 4 answers · asked by Blue 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
The temperature outside the freezer is normal room temperature (estimate 70degrees F).
And the water freezes to ice right in front of us, it looks amazing and has us all baffeled.
2007-05-29 00:04:24 · update #1
It's caused by supercooling. A liquid below its freezing point will only crystallize in the presence of a seed crystal or nucleus around which a crystal structure can form.
A regular glass of tap water will freeze at the normal temperature because the solution contains tiny particles of dust and dissolved gas. The glass will also have tiny scratches on its surface that act as nucleation sites.
A smooth container of distilled water can be cooled to a temperature of -42 degrees C before freezing occurs automatically.
By taking the bottle out of the freezer and shaking it, you are allowing some of the air in the bottle to dissolve into the water, which in turn facillitates nucleation causing the water to freeze before your very eyes.
The opposite of supercooling is superheating. You can do this with a similar container of distilled water and a microwave. The microwave superheats the distilled water beyond its boiling point. If anything is added to the water which could facillitate nucleation (e.g instant coffee granules), the water boils explosively. This is why there are warnings on microwaves about flash boiling.
2007-05-28 22:44:44 · answer #1 · answered by icurok 3 · 7⤊ 0⤋
Because there are not enough nuclei for freezing, the water was getting supercooled and when you take it out of the freezer, the water starts freezing. Movement like shaking accelerates the process.
2007-05-28 22:57:22 · answer #2 · answered by Swamy 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Is the outside temperature much less than your freezer temperature? Is it freezer or fridge? Probably you are talking about the water condensing on the bottle, I think.
Because at ordinary temperature water cannot form ice, it is the other way round. So please check up whether it is ice or condensation.
2007-05-28 22:31:18 · answer #3 · answered by rajan l 6 · 0⤊ 6⤋
The temperature of ur surrounding is less than that in ur freezer.
2007-05-28 22:32:20 · answer #4 · answered by nivik 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋