So, Im sittin here trying to figure out why hot water freezes faster than cold when it hit me.. Water molecules consist of two hydrogen molecules attached to an oxygen molecule primarily through strong covalent bonds. Normally, covalent bonds will soften and lengthen as they are heated. But in water, because of the unique properties of hydrogen bonds—the interaction between the hydrogen atoms in one water molecule and the oxygen molecule in a neighboring molecule—the opposite effect happens. As a body of water absorbs energy, the hydrogen bonds will stretch (causing individual water molecules to move apart from each other), but the covalent bonds within each molecule become shorter and stiffer—the same thing that happens when water freezes. So on an individual molecular level, heated water more closely resembles frozen water than the initial colder water did. More importantly, the rate at which the energy in these shrunken covalent bonds is released dependent exponentially on how much energy was initially stored. Effectively, hot water has energy wound up like a spring which gets released when you begin to cool it, allowing it to cool and freeze faster... now I can go to sleep
Posted on: Fri, 01 Nov 2013 06:41:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015