How can this thermodynamic phenomenon be explained

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around a thermodynamic phenomenon observed with a plastic ice cream wrapper that appears to tilt towards warmer and colder objects. Participants explore potential explanations for this behavior, including static electricity and temperature effects, while considering experimental approaches to further investigate the phenomenon.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant describes observing the ice cream wrapper tilting towards warmer objects, noting the proximity and ease of removal.
  • Another participant questions whether the wrapper would also tilt towards colder objects, suggesting a need for further testing.
  • A participant recalls testing with the ice cream bar itself but did not observe tilting, expressing uncertainty due to lack of repeated trials.
  • One participant proposes that static electricity might explain the observed effect.
  • Another participant confirms that after further testing, the wrapper does gravitate towards cold objects, indicating variability in observations.
  • A suggestion is made to use a stronger heat source to test for temperature effects and to explore the possibility of a bimetallic strip effect causing the wrapper to curl.
  • Participants discuss testing for static effects by stroking the plastic with wool.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing observations regarding the behavior of the wrapper towards hot and cold objects, indicating that the discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing views on the underlying causes.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the need for further experimentation to clarify the effects observed, including the influence of temperature and static electricity, but do not resolve the underlying mechanisms.

Supernova00
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Hi there.

Earlier today I decided to pull out ice cream from the freezer. It is a magnum-type ice-cream and comes in a plastic wrapper.

Once I opened the wrapper and removed the ice cream, I left the wrapper on the kitchen table and noticed something rather bizzarre (to me at least). Everytime I placed a warmer object near the wrapper (I tried my hand, Tv-remote, metal fork and coffee coaster) within minutes of it being out of the freezer, the cold wrapper would tilt towards the object, and then hold onto it like a weak magnet. It was really weird seeing the packaging tilt towards my hand given that the separation between my hand and the packaging was roughly 1cm. It was fairly easy to remove the packaging from my hand.

I would be really grateful if somebody could explain this to me.
 
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Supernova00 said:
Hi there.

Earlier today I decided to pull out ice cream from the freezer. It is a magnum-type ice-cream and comes in a plastic wrapper.

Once I opened the wrapper and removed the ice cream, I left the wrapper on the kitchen table and noticed something rather bizzarre (to me at least). Everytime I placed a warmer object near the wrapper (I tried my hand, Tv-remote, metal fork and coffee coaster) within minutes of it being out of the freezer, the cold wrapper would tilt towards the object, and then hold onto it like a weak magnet. It was really weird seeing the packaging tilt towards my hand given that the separation between my hand and the packaging was roughly 1cm. It was fairly easy to remove the packaging from my hand.

I would be really grateful if somebody could explain this to me.
What if you placed a colder object near it. Would it also tilt for that?
 
Chestermiller said:
What if you placed a colder object near it. Would it also tilt for that?

Ah shoot! I forgot to test that properly. I realized that I should have done so before posting. Sorry.

edit: Actually I do recall testing it although not as thoroughly as with my hand. I tested it using the ice cream bar itself. I can confirm that it did not tilt for it, but I did not carry out any repeats so I can't be sure.
 
Supernova00 said:
Ah shoot! I forgot to test that properly. I realized that I should have done so before posting. Sorry.

edit: Actually I do recall testing it although not as thoroughly as with my hand. I tested it using the ice cream bar itself. I can confirm that it did not tilt for it, but I did not carry out any repeats so I can't be sure.
I was thinking that it might be a static electricity effect.
 
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Interesting.After repeated testing today I can confirm that it does gravitate towards a cold object. When it didn't yesterday that must have been a one off.

Please explain how static electricity would produce this effect

Edit: I suppose it isn't actually thermodynamic if the cold wrapper tilts towards hot and cold objects
 
If you want to test if there is a temperature effect, you might want to use a much stronger heat source, like a light bulb or lighter, to exaggerate the effects.
There could be something going on like a bimetallic strip. One side of the plastic may get warmer than the other side, and cause it to curl.

If you want to test for static effects, you could try stroking the plastic with wool or something.
 
I'll try that out over the coming few days. Should be interesting
 

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