Abstract
The objective of this paper is to investigate water supercooling. Supercooling occurs when a liquid does not freeze although its temperature is below its freezing point. In general, supercooling is an unstable condition and occurs under special conditions. The parameters that influence supercooling stability and probability of occurrence include freezer temperature and water’s initial temperature. In this paper, it is shown that with a freezer temperature range of -3℃ to -8℃, supercooling is most likely to happen and is independent of the water’s initial temperature. Furthermore, as the freezer temperature decreases, the probability of nucleation increases, causing instant freezing. Finally, it is concluded that the Mpemba effect, in which initially hot water freezes faster than initially cold water, is due to the supercooling instability in initially hot water in which nucleation agents are more active.
Highlights
By observing the water’s phase diagram, it seems impossible to have liquid water several degrees below its freezing point
It is concluded that the Mpemba effect, in which initially hot water freezes faster than initially cold water, is due to the supercooling instability in initially hot water in which nucleation agents are more active
There are circumstances in which water temperature drops below its freezing point, but no phase transition happens while water remains in liquid phase
Summary
By observing the water’s phase diagram, it seems impossible to have liquid water several degrees below its freezing point. There are circumstances in which water temperature drops below its freezing point, but no phase transition happens while water remains in liquid phase. If one can store food in a subfreezing temperature without freezing, there would be no loss of quality. Fish use the supercooling phenomenon to survive in subfreezing temperatures. The Polar Teleost fish is a good example of a species that supercools to −1.9 ̊C while its body fluid’s freezing point is −0.6 ̊C [2]
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