Can hot water freeze faster than cold water?
physics > arcane
My initial reaction to the question was "of course not". I first heard someone make the claim when I was more active in physics, and lamented the sorry state that logical reasoning was in. I was wrong. I had never heard of the Mpemba effect. Although some hasty experiments suggest that this holds for a limited set of conditions not easily reproducible with your average kitchenware.
Now excuse me as I have to go observe some cups I've put in my freezer...
1 comment:
old commentslanguage hat:
I'm really glad you posted this. I used to go around telling people hot water froze faster and (like young Mpemba) got laughed at, so I decided I must be wrong. Now I laugh at those who laughed at me! Ha! Ha!
talos:Well yes, but do take into account the rather narrow initial conditions involved!
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