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Geology, Palaeontology & Archaeology / Re: Why do stalagmites (ice spikes) form on my ice cubes?
« on: 26/04/2004 03:40:26 »quote:
Originally posted by gsmollin
You must have an extremely cold freezer, or the water is not very pure. This phenomenon is common when rapid solidifcation occurs of a substance that is expanding. Water expands when it freezes, but it is usually pretty slow in a freezer, so we see only some cracking. To get the breakouts, you must have the freezer set very low, or have a rapid freezing plate in the freezer, which is sometimes used to rapid-freeze food for storage.
Dear gsmollin,
Thanks for your input here. Our freezer is rather cold (keeps the ice cream rock hard), AND our water is not that pure. We filter it through a Brita, but we are in an old building with really crummy pipes. Just for kicks I will try freezing up some purified water, adjusting the temp setting, and, as Neilep suggested, moving the tray around. I'll follow up with a post here if I get any noteworthy results.
Thanks all,
Jon