Larry A Hoy wrote:
>
> Dan Masters writes:
>
> > It's just that in the transition from water to ice, ice occupies more
> space than the water.
>
> and Dan writes:
>
> >I don't know of any material that gets larger as the temperature
> decreases, but there may be
> >something that does - pure unobtainium, perhaps?
>
> So what about water? When water freezes and turns to ice it gets bigger.
> So removing heat from some items does increase it's size. I think water
> is the only thing that does this.
>
> Does anyone know why this happens? Any explanation needs to be related
> to me in the lowest common denominator so I can understand it! I once
> asked my son to ask his science teacher this question. I think my son
> thought the teacher would make him to figure it out on his own ,,,,,, he
> never asked.
>
> Larry Hoy (MGB.Roadster@juno.com)
> Denver, CO USA
> 1969 MGB Roadster
> 1987 Jaguar XJ6 Vanden Plas
> ===============================
Water definitely gets larger as it gets colder. Water, H2O, is it's
densest (most dense?) at 4 degrees centigrade. Below that temperature
and above, it gets larger (occupies more space if you will). That is why
under some conditions the ice on a lake will actually expand enough to
buckle and raise itself into ridges.
To put it in more familiar terms, If water continued to get smaller as
it got colder, Then there would be no harm in leaving 100% water in out
LBC's over winter storage. The freeze plugs would not expand out of the
block and the block would not crack from the frozen coolant.
Don't ask me to explain it. I have learned this somewhere and it has
stuck with me over the years. To the best of my knowledge, this is the
only material that fits this phenomenon.
Chuck Schaefer
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