{"id":3762,"date":"2022-02-21T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=3762"},"modified":"2022-02-08T07:48:48","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T07:48:48","slug":"ice-apparently-melts-in-weird-ways-while-in-different-temperatures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/ice-apparently-melts-in-weird-ways-while-in-different-temperatures\/","title":{"rendered":"Ice Apparently Melts In Weird Ways While In Different Temperatures"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Stare long enough at your nearest ice-laden drinking glass and you\u2019ll notice that, unsurprisingly, the ice melts away in due time. From your last soda stint to glacier melts that unfortunately contribute to rising sea levels, the ubiquitous physical phenomenon is <a href=\"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/superionic-ice-a-new-state-of-matter-and-water\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">just as deceptively complex<\/a> as it is unavoidable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New York University<\/a> (NYU) seem to corroborate on this, as they\u2019ve just demonstrated just how strange the liquid that surrounds our planet truly is. In fact, their research, which was published in the journal <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.aps.org\/prl\/abstract\/10.1103\/PhysRevLett.128.044502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Physical Review Letters<\/em><\/a>, showed that while ice melts just as expected when heated to certain temperatures above its melting point, it\u2019s the way that it melts that has scientists interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leif Ristroph, experimental physicist and NYU <a href=\"https:\/\/cims.nyu.edu\/dynamic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences<\/a> associate professor, details their work: \u201cThe shapes and patterning of ice are sensitive indicators of the environmental conditions at which it melted, allowing us to \u2018read\u2019 the shape to infer factors such as the ambient water temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img  decoding=\"async\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/lh3.googleusercontent.com\/KWWps1hkhEKn9HAh45npVIvba3V1y0Mw-Mgkpep9GG27Pn8phd4VEvgjVvQw_Yt6VW34ThvTQwxeFhTpUgyLZ6Fr7W8jnJhIDrquuwgHcMVNStu56BaFr6Z_EIzmgfGhHInV6RdS\" ><figcaption>At first glance, it seems that we know all there is to know about water. However, several extensive studies\u2014including this one\u2014have continuously proven us wrong, showing that there\u2019s far more to the stuff that we see all around us that meets the eye. (Guillen, 2016)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>To help with their work, Ristroph and the team used \u201c<em>clear ice<\/em>,\u201d or ice that\u2019s free of bubbles and other impurities, to see how they melt in pristine detail. These specially-made pieces of ice were submerged in water tanks, which themselves were placed inside a temperature-controlled \u201ccold room\u201d for the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ristroph continued: &#8220;We focused on the cold temperatures\u2014[0-10 \u00b0C] (32-50 \u00b0F)\u2014at which ice in natural waters typically melts, and we found a surprising variety of shapes that formed.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Shape of Melting Ice\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8eSr93-6lS0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption>The video above, uploaded by New York University, shows just how unique each piece of ice manages to melt when fixed at different temperatures. In this case, the water was fixed at 6 \u00b0C (42.8 \u00b0F). (NYU Applied Mathematics Laboratory\/New York University, 2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When the water is fixed at temperatures on or below 5 \u00b0C (41 \u00b0F), the ice that\u2019s melting takes on the shape of spikes that point downward, akin to icicles. When the temperatures are a bit higher at about 7 \u00b0C (44.6 \u00b0F), the spike seems to invert and instead points upward. When temperatures are in between the two, around 6 \u00b0C (42.8 \u00b0F), the ice takes on a wavy and rippled pattern on its surface as it melts\u2014a feature they call \u201cscallops,\u201d which can also be seen on naturally-occurring ice structures, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyu.edu\/about\/news-publications\/news\/2022\/january\/scientists-uncover-how-the-shape-of-melting-ice-depends-on-water.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the NYU press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMelting causes gradients in the temperature of the water near the ice, which causes the liquid at different places to have different densities,\u201d explains first author and NYU graduate student Scott Weady. \u201cThis generates flows due to gravity\u2014with heavier liquid sinking and lighter fluid rising\u2014and such flows along the surface lead to different rates of melting at different locations and thus changes in shape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img  decoding=\"async\"  src=\"data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABAQMAAAAl21bKAAAAA1BMVEUAAP+KeNJXAAAAAXRSTlMAQObYZgAAAAlwSFlzAAAOxAAADsQBlSsOGwAAAApJREFUCNdjYAAAAAIAAeIhvDMAAAAASUVORK5CYII=\"  alt=\"\"  class=\" pk-lazyload\"  data-pk-sizes=\"auto\"  data-pk-src=\"https:\/\/lh5.googleusercontent.com\/-uGTgKzKua2M-5w_3E1GY816xGxfsER7aJfbA5D14H99m8asiJZVIJy93DPuIrW3GPcvqSCso537vTY2PLsgcAEFEyLk56nfi41kp7VgLm-QDGf4iAibjcRNyEZtaNpIKLZ1OD9V\" ><figcaption>These close-up images of the melting ice feature their distinct features, which the researchers note may be due to the difference in how the melts flow depending on temperature. (Weady et al\/NYU\u2019s Applied Mathematics Laboratory, 2022)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe strange bit of physics is that liquid water has a highly unusual dependence of density on temperature, in particular a maximum of density at about 4 degrees C,\u201d Weady continued. \u201cThis \u2018density anomaly\u2019 makes water unique in comparison to other fluids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To be specific, the researchers noticed that this very same property is at work in their findings. At the first range of temperatures close to 4 \u00b0C (41 \u00b0F), water manages to flow upward, creating the downward-facing spike. The reverse can be said of those at temperatures at 7 \u00b0C (44.6 \u00b0F) and higher, creating upward-facing spikes instead. The two flows compete at the temperatures between, creating the vortices that carve the pits that we see as waves and ripples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ristroph added: \u201cOur findings help to explain some characteristic shapes of ice seen in nature, specifically the so-called pinnacle morphology of icebergs that consists of sharp spikes or spires and the so-called scallops that consist of wavy patterns of pits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To Ristroph and the team, their findings carry with it certain implications for the understanding of larger systems that depend on melting ice, like <a href=\"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/the-earth-is-losing-so-much-ice-that-the-crust-beneath-it-is-warping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Earth\u2019s changing climate<\/a>. Ristroph added that understanding the physics and math of what happens to the ice at smaller scales enables us to understand \u201ckey components of larger-scale climate models.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"references\">References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Nield, D. (2022, February 2). <em>Physicists reveal the weird shapes ice takes as it melts at different temperatures<\/em>. ScienceAlert. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/the-shape-of-melting-ice-depends-on-what-temperature-it-is\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.sciencealert.com\/the-shape-of-melting-ice-depends-on-what-temperature-it-is<\/a><\/li><li>NYU Web Communications. (2022, January 31). <em>Scientists uncover how the shape of melting ice depends on water temperature<\/em>. New York University. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nyu.edu\/content\/nyu\/en\/about\/news-publications\/news\/2022\/january\/scientists-uncover-how-the-shape-of-melting-ice-depends-on-water\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">http:\/\/www.nyu.edu\/content\/nyu\/en\/about\/news-publications\/news\/2022\/january\/scientists-uncover-how-the-shape-of-melting-ice-depends-on-water<\/a><\/li><li>Weady, S., Tong, J., Zidovska, A., &amp; Ristroph, L. (2022). Anomalous convective flows carve pinnacles and scallops in melting ice. <em>Physical Review Letters<\/em>, <em>128<\/em>(4), 044502. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1103\/PhysRevLett.128.044502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1103\/PhysRevLett.128.044502<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stare long enough at your nearest ice-laden drinking glass and you\u2019ll notice that, unsurprisingly, the ice melts away&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[375,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-3762","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-math-and-the-sciences","8":"tag-ice","9":"tag-water","10":"cs-entry","11":"cs-video-wrap"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3762"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3762\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3764,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3762\/revisions\/3764"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}