All about flooble | fun stuff | Get a free chatterbox | Free JavaScript | Avatars    
perplexus dot info

Home > Science
In violation of Thermodynamics (Posted on 2003-05-11) Difficulty: 2 of 5
Many have heard the "old wives tale" stating that if you put hot water into a freezer, it freezes in less time than it would have if it had been cold to start. Never did I believe such a claim, as it runs contrary to one of the basic laws of nature.

While surfing one day on sites illustrating "bad science" I actually found a plausible real life reason why this in fact can be true (read:not always true, but possible). Running this experiment under controlled conditions [eg. measure the same volumes of hot and cold water, make sure containers are equal in any relevant aspect (shape, material, conductance properties, covered or not etc.), and that the freezer is properly set to achieve a uniform temperature throughout], can you come up with a reasonable set of conditions for which the water in the hot container would freeze before the water in the cold container?

See The Solution Submitted by Cory Taylor    
Rating: 3.1429 (7 votes)

Comments: ( Back to comment list | You must be logged in to post comments.)
Motion | Comment 17 of 18 |
The freezer doesn't add cold it removes heat. The hot water molecules are moving faster, bouncing around more, touching the sides of the container, and evaporating into the air just like the cold water, but much faster. The "cool down" curve for the hot water is much steeper than the curve for the cold water, but will they intersect before either reaches zero at the center.??? I don't know.  
  Posted by bob909 on 2004-10-06 05:14:15
Please log in:
Login:
Password:
Remember me:
Sign up! | Forgot password


Search:
Search body:
Forums (0)
Newest Problems
Random Problem
FAQ | About This Site
Site Statistics
New Comments (8)
Unsolved Problems
Top Rated Problems
This month's top
Most Commented On

Chatterbox:
Copyright © 2002 - 2024 by Animus Pactum Consulting. All rights reserved. Privacy Information