What freezes faster in an ice tray, cool or hot water?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the question of whether hot or cold water freezes faster in an ice tray. Participants explore various factors that may influence freezing times, including evaporation, circulation, and the Mpemba effect, while considering both theoretical and experimental perspectives.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Experimental/applied
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that under certain conditions, hot water can freeze faster than cold water, citing the Mpemba effect and factors such as evaporation and mass loss.
  • Others argue that cold water will freeze faster because it does not need to cool down before freezing, thus taking less time overall.
  • One participant mentions that the cooling process of hot water involves more complex dynamics, including evaporation and convection currents, which may affect freezing times.
  • Another participant shares personal experimental results indicating that cold water consistently froze faster than hot water.
  • Concerns are raised about the assumptions made in discussions, particularly regarding the definition of "all other conditions being equal" and how changes in water properties can affect outcomes.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the freezing rates of hot versus cold water, with no consensus reached. Some support the idea that hot water can freeze faster under specific conditions, while others maintain that cold water freezes more quickly in general.

Contextual Notes

Participants note various variables that could influence freezing times, such as the initial temperature of the water, the presence of dissolved solids, and the effects of evaporation, which complicate the discussion.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those exploring thermodynamics, experimental physics, or anyone curious about the properties of water and freezing processes.

  • #31
BobG said:
You missed the point.

Not really.
 
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  • #32
Its pretty nice reading this, though it has been some years back...i have my views here too.


you all correct, but on normal circumstances or conditions, the cold water will freeze first. On experimental conditions, some variables has to be fixed. the hot water will freeze firstly.

Certain conditions has to be met, for the hot water to freeze first ; volume, pressure, atmospheric temperature, and also the surface area of the water exposed to the atmosphere. This has to be equal for the both variants.

You could experiment this again LURCH
 
  • #33
megashawn said:
I have to agree with Fz and Phobos



I mean, is it really that hard to try this yourself?

If you do the problem yourself, you will most likely find that the cold water freezes faster. If you conclude that "cold water freezes faster than hot water," you are then incorrect.

If you repeat the experiment millions of times under different circumstances, you will find that hot water sometimes freezes faster.

Of course you could continue doing experiments, making hypothesis, and testing the results and possibly come to the true solution by re-deriving the laws of physics...

but wouldn't it just be easier to ask someone else who already knows the answer? That's clearly the more efficient way to find the truth...so there's nothing wrong with asking on a forum.
 
  • #35
To put a slightly different twist on it, my father was head of maintenance at a college and remarked on several occasions that hot water pipes always froze before cold water pipes. He's no longer living and I never questioned him about it but I suppose it's possible the cold water was being used more than the hot water allowing it to cool to freezing sooner, or then again not.
 
  • #36
This thread appears to have more lives than Joan Collin's career!

Zz.
 
  • #37
Something slightly interesting...
My roomie decided to steal some of my vodka and replace it with water. I keep my vodka in the freezer though. The first time he did this it was pretty obvious when I came home and found vodka slush in the bottle. The second time though the vodka looked fine until I poured it. Suddenly there were ice crystals (kinda like snow flakes) in the glass as I poured the vodka. And when I agitated the bottle it turned into a thick slush. If I left it sitting in the freezer after that it returned to a purely liquid state eventually. Annoying but interesting.
 
  • #38
My neighbor's son tried this experiment a few years ago. He heated the water in his mothers coffee maker...then placed the hot water...still in the glass coffee pot...in the freezer.

You know the rest...inconclusive results to the experiment..due to an unforeseen variable.
 
  • #39
TheStatutoryApe said:
Something slightly interesting...
My roomie decided to steal some of my vodka and replace it with water. I keep my vodka in the freezer though. The first time he did this it was pretty obvious when I came home and found vodka slush in the bottle. The second time though the vodka looked fine until I poured it. Suddenly there were ice crystals (kinda like snow flakes) in the glass as I poured the vodka. And when I agitated the bottle it turned into a thick slush. If I left it sitting in the freezer after that it returned to a purely liquid state eventually. Annoying but interesting.

A lot of people store their Absolut and Stoli in the freezer.
 

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