That kind of girl...: Ice Cubes.

Tasty Temptations

Cooking has always been the one thing where, when I am doing it, nothing else in the world seems to matter. I can cook for minutes or I can cook for hours, but no matter how long I can cook for, I always find myself feeling more like 'me' when I am done. Plus there is no better excuse to drink by yourself than while you are cooking a great meal (All those drunken chefs out there can thank Julia for making this acceptable).

Me and a few of my friends have decided to create a place to share our love of cooking....check us out here.

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Ice Cubes.

I know what you are thinking, how can Ginger right a blog about ice cubes. This is more of a commentary on MY ice cubes. I have a strange phenomena happening in my freezer. First I should clue you all in, I am not one of those novel modern people with a built in ice maker, I still use ice trays. Anyways, every time I make ice, I fill up the trays, put them in the freezer and leave them to freeze their little hearts away. Nothing odd here, I know. Next thing I know, my ice cubes have icicles sticking upwards out of them (are they still icicles when they stick upwards like little peaks?). I'm not talking about about little bumps on my cubes, I am talking about 2 inch icicles sticking straight up out the cubes. I have no idea what is causing this but after I get over the amazement of it, I am a little freaked out about why this is happening. Maybe I should buy a little spy camera and stick it in my freezer?

3 comments:

misguidedmommy said...: we need pictures!; June 9, 2007 at 11:49 AM
misguidedmommy said...: The short explanation is this: as the ice freezes fast under supercooled conditions, the surface can get covered except for a small hole. Water expands when it freezes. As freezing continues, the expanding ice under the surface forces the remaining water up through the hole and it freezes around the edge forming a hollow spike. Eventually, the whole thing freezes and the spike is left.

A slightly longer explanation: the form of the ice crystals depends on the cooling rate and hence on the degree of supercooling. Large supercooling favors sheets which rapidly cover the surface, with some sheets hanging down into the water like curtains. These crystalites tend to join at 60 degrees and leave triangular holes in the surface. Hence, spikes often have a triangular base. The sides of the spike are sometimes a continuation of pre-existing subsurface crystalites, and can extend from the surface at steep angles.; June 9, 2007 at 11:52 AM
Jen said...: OMG- Who can say: whoa! Shannon is BORED!?; June 11, 2007 at 11:51 AM