The Unique Properties of Ice
By the standard of other substances, the properties of ice are bizarre, yet ice is so perfectly suited to our purpose that if it didn't exist we should have to invent it. With few exceptions, the solid phase of matter is more dense than the liquid phase; water. alone among common substances, violates the rule. As water begins to cool, it first contracts and becomes more dense, in the typical way. But about four degrees above the freezing point, something peculiar happens. It ceases to contract and begins expanding, becoming less dense. At the freezing point the expansion is abrupt and drastic. As water turns to ice, it adds about one-eleventh to its liquid volume. This extraordinary fact is portentous with meaning. It means that ice floats on liquid water, rather than sinks. It means that ponds freeze from the top down. rather than from the bottom up. It means that aquatic life in freezing climes can survive the winter in unfrozen water and mud under the ice.
Notes:
Frozen water works so perfectly for life on Earth.
Folksonomies: wonder environment water
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Entities:
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Concepts:
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Ice (0.951459): dbpedia | freebase
Emulsion (0.697891): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
Triple point (0.677805): dbpedia | freebase | yago
Phase (0.677792): dbpedia | freebase
Supercooling (0.647296): dbpedia | freebase | yago
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Solid (0.606770): dbpedia | freebase | opencyc
The Path: A One-Mile Walk Through the Universe
