Why does ice float on water?
Since matter expands
when heated, you can predict that ice is denser than water and therefore must
sink. However, when water is heated from 2 degrees Celsius to 4 degrees
Celsius, it seems to contract instead of expanding, because the forces between
the molecules increase and the ice crystals collapse.
The
forces between the water molecules are strong, and the structure of the
crystals that make up the ice is open. To the extent that ice melts, the tiny
crystals survive the melting process. The remaining crystals start to dissolve
and the volume of water starts to decrease. This process continues until the
temperature reaches 4 degrees Celsius. However, when the temperature of the water
reaches above 4 degrees Celsius, then its volume starts to increase because
the movement of molecules increases a lot. The practical result is that the
density of water is maximum at 4 degrees Celsius, and thus ice begins to float.
This fact is very important for our life and environment. If the ice had sunk,
then the lakes would have frozen from the bottom in the winter and many of them
would never have completely melted in the summer.
Read Also:
1. What would happen if oxygen
disappears from the earth for 5 seconds?
2. Shocking fact About Dmitri Mendeleev
3. Lightning
and Cell Phones | Dangerous or Safe?
4. THE BIZARRE WORLD OF QUANTUM
MECHANICS
5. The human body and electric charges
