Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: neilep on 14/09/2006 17:29:05

Title: Ice is cloudy but it's also clear ?
Post by: neilep on 14/09/2006 17:29:05

Dearest Experts on frozen H2O !

is there any way at home to make ice cubes that are clear ?

Why do my ice cubes go cloudy ?...what is the cloudy stuff ?.

..when it melts..the cloudy stuff is not there ?

I've seen perfectly clear ice cubes in restaurants...I want those too..me me me me me !!...me wants clear ice cubes !!..so..what do I do ?

ta

Men are the same as women, just inside out !

Title: Re: Ice is cloudy but it's also clear ?
Post by: moonfire on 14/09/2006 18:59:11

Neil, maybe it is a filteration of the water or perhaps distilled? Good question though

"Lo" Loretta

Title: Re: Ice is cloudy but it's also clear ?
Post by: lightarrow on 14/09/2006 20:32:34

I don't know how they do in restaurants, but I'm sure the "clouds" are made of air bubbles previously dissolved in water that were trapped in the solidifying ice. You should boil the water and then put it immediately in the fridge to give less time to air for dissolving in the water before it solidify.

Title: Re: Ice is cloudy but it's also clear ?
Post by: Gaia on 15/09/2006 13:03:04

Air and minerals in water help with the flavour. Have you ever tasted sterile distilled water such as that used in pharmacies to make up medicines? Yuck, makes revolting tea, gags at the remembrance!!! [xx(]

Hey, relates back to my other post about memory and sensory stimulation [:)]

Gaia  xxx

Title: Re: Ice is cloudy but it's also clear ?
Post by: moonfire on 15/09/2006 14:33:57

Okay, tell the story...Gaia!  LOL

"Lo" Loretta

Title: Re: Ice is cloudy but it's also clear ?
Post by: Karen W. on 15/09/2006 16:31:29

Yes interesting...... What would happen if you put Plastic wrap over the ice, does this cut down on clouding?

Karen

Title: Re: Ice is cloudy but it's also clear ?
Post by: Karen W. on 15/09/2006 16:33:51

I kind of thought that the crysalization was what caused the clouding, Perhaps the speed at which it was frozen...Maybe if it is frozen quicker there would be less clouding.....

Karen

Title: Re: Ice is cloudy but it's also clear ?
Post by: eric l on 15/09/2006 17:10:28

Freezing too quickly creates lots of small crystals, which do not all have the same orientation.  This causes part of the cloudiness.
Entrapped gas (air but also carbon dioxide) is an other cause for cloudiness.  Boiling the water first helps (as stated by lightarrow).
If you make ice in your kitchen fridge, freezing starts from the outside, so air and carbon dioxide are concentrated in the middle, toward the point of oversaturation.
Icemakers in restaurants and elsewhere make ice AROUND a supercooled drum, and fresh water is dripped on this ice.  This way, the dissolved air (or) gas) can escape, and instead of creating new crystals, they let the crystals grow.