What makes water expand

In a late-spring frost, plant cells may burst as their water turns to ice, killing fruits and flowers. Indoors, if the heat goes out, water can freeze in a building's plumbing system, bursting cast-iron pipes as if they were cheap plastic. Scientists say that the force of expanding water depends on the exact form ice takes as it freezes. But some estimate that water freezing in a pipe can exert a force of about 3, pounds per square inch. Under certain conditions, the pressure of expanding ice may rise to , psi.

Which is why water freezing in cracks and crevices can easily break boulders. Real Estate Technology Cars Columns. July 17, PM. Question ec. Question d81f8. If you boil g of water until there is no liquid left what mass of water vapor will you get?

See all questions in Phase Changes. Impact of this question views around the world. The bond between these molecules, due to their positive H and negative O charges, creates an opposing force to the force that is removing the energy. As the process progresses, and the water expands further, the force of the molecular bond and of whatever is taking the energy from the water, cancel out, creating the frozen water.

AKA Ice. The molecules are suspended between two forces with little motion in either direction. The outer molecules move slower than the innermost molecules.

This is why you see lakes with liquid water covered by ice in the winter. Correct me if I'm wrong. This reminded me of the rubberband trick, stretch a rubberband almost to the breaking point for 10 seconds, let it contract back to it's normal state quickly, still holding onto the rubberband you can feel the rubberband absorbing the heat energy from your hand.

It "feels" like the rubberband is cold, but it's just the transfer of heat. The shrinking elastic band is "doing work" to re-compact and coil the stretch rubber polymer chains.

Doing work consumes energy, so the average energy of the polymer chains - and hence the temperature of the rubber band falls i. So, pretty much when the particles or the solid substance gain energy, they get hot so the particles tend to expand causing the solid to expand?

Your explanations are great! Skip to main content. Earth Science. Articles Answers to Science Questions Why does water expand when it freezes? Why does water expand when it freezes? Part of the show Why does Water Expand when it Freezes? Play Download. Question Why does water expand when it freezes?

Answer Usually, when things freeze - in other words turn from a liquid into a solid - they shrink or get smaller. Previous How do cold-blooded species cope in cold water? Next Why can't the human body multi-task? Related Content Chemistry Physics. Why are ice and snow slippery?

The future of education. Biology Earth Science. Supercooling sea spiders. Biology Chemistry. Cryoprotectant Molecules - Nature's Anti-freeze. Question of the Week. Is every snowflake unique? Ice sheets on the surface of the ocean insulate the water beneath and allow organisms to live in polar regions of the world, and also prevent oceans from freezing solid. From Wikibooks, open books for an open world. There are 2 pending changes awaiting review.

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