Scientists offer £1,000 prize for answer to why hot water freeze faster than cold.

Originally posted by Monsatan
I've got one, not sure if it's been mentioned

Since the hot water has more heat, it transfers more quickly than the cold, allowing the temperature to drop quicker

Voila, freezes faster
Like I expect anybody to get the money..

So .... I take it you didn't read my "experiment" above disproving (at least to myself) that hot water freezes faster than cold ?

reply to post by Infi8nity


Actually chief i think your onto something .....keep thinkin it through you'll get it. Your on the right track.

It's caused by the rapid deceleration of the water molecules.Like the opposite of friction. yeah I made that up

Rate of decrease exponentially accelerates in higher temps than lower temps. Therefore given time can 'catch' up (or in this case 'down') with colder water in the same environment.

I got into a "heated" argument about this years ago....

Guys says, "hot water freezes faster than cold..."

"BS," I say, "No way...you're an idiot. Because no matter what, the water in both containers
HAS to arrive at the same temperature during some point in the experiment. So EVEN IF the
hot water (SOMEHOW) catches up to the cold water's temperature, AT BEST, both samples
will freeze at the same time...You sir are an idiot...It amazes me how gullible you are..."

So off I go to do the experiment...


I think it was about 1975....and I'm pretty sure it was the last time I was wrong about anything...

...humble pie is nasty stuff....tastes like warm poop

offering an answer based on my reverse density idea of the universe posted in another thread.

Lets see water molecules in cold water bond by hodrgen bonding i.e H from one molecule sharing electrons over two water molecules. In my reverse theory this would mean that a water molecule consist of two types of spaces one larger and two smaller separated by the matter between them. in water liquid form one smaller bubble (H) get pushed toward a larger bubble (oxygen of another atom by the surrounding pace matter) due to pressure of the surrounding space fabric. (since balance is the key it does so in the most balanced way i.e by extending one H toward the O of another atom space)

When we cool something down what we are doing (in reverse thinking) is making the surrounding more dense forcing the bubbles to stay in place, when we heat the opposite is true.

So by that logic hot water which is slightly less compressed than colder water by the surrounding space matter will be easier filled in around by more dense matter (think filling in spaces between bubbles in a bubble wrap. It is faster and easier to do when the spaces are larger. So as water freezes on the outside I'e gets denser it is easier for the 'cold' denser space matter to move inward in the more open spaced hot water than in the colder less spaced/already denser water.

Think difference between pouring water into a plastic icemaker bag versus pouring say treacle only not as pronounced but non the less. As space matter slows down and gets more dense (i.e freezes) it gets more like the treakle and so has an easier time affecting the less dense slightly more parted space of hot water than it does cold.

Yes this is all imagination and not the answer but I enjoyed the exercise so take it for what it is

My assumption would be that the molecules are far apart, so its easier to reduce its excited state, also when less contaminates are present, its also freezes faster. you can test it with water from tap with a drop of dirt(mixed) VS boiled tap water, you will get clear ice cubes with boiled water(no bubbles or the whiteness inside the cube, the cubes would be see thru 100%..

reply to post by luciddream



I ran a similar experiment, but did not think to test for purity.

After I did the boiling vs cold experiment (and it blew me away with the results), I went back
and boiled two new samples. Then I waited for them to cool and performed the experiment again,
and got the same results....I had to conclude, even with my (rough) testing conditions
that the phenomena was a function of temperature.

It still makes no easily logical sense. because like i said, even if you imagine that the
hot water loses heat at a faster rate, the two samples will arrive at the same temperature
at some point as the close in on the freezing point. How the hot sample continues to cool
faster than the cold sample after this point baffles me...

Heat comes from movement. Water resists temperature change. Maby hot particles are more prone to cooling, than particals that are already cool? Or cool molecules resist getting colder than hot? Just a theory.

Summit wrong with specific gravity ratio to mass, Next.

...Theories put forward based on evaporation, convection and supercooling have all been put forward, but as yet the question still remains unanswered.

Members of the public have until July 30 to submit their entries.

They will be pitted against worldwide postgraduate scientists, who, sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry, will be tackling the same problem.

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk... KIVhUm


nowhere in the DailyMail article does it tell where to submit your answer...
anyone here know where to send your contest answer??

i say that hot water is in a state of agitation, like being stirred...
but colder water is more cohesive... the molecules more unified with each other so that the whole volume of water acts as a single unit being cooled

wheras the hot water molecules individually are exposed to the outside barrier which is freezing thus becoming colder quicker than the cold water volume

50% split...half to a Buddhist Temple & half for myself

It's simple. The molecules in hot water are naturally more energetic and form into a type of heat reducing lattice faster than the room temperature water....

no it doesn't.....we did that and no.....hot water took way longer to freeze
so we said that was debunk't

I'll make a guess. Hot water has more ions than water at room temperature so putting it in the freezer would cause it to start loosing Ions at a faster rate than the water at room temperature. This causes a polarization of the water molecules and with this polarization it is not random allowing energy to flow quicker through polarized circuits of water. By this theory the water should have a stranded crystal formation. Lining up polarity is common on rapid cooling but in the case of metals there is a difference in structure of the metals. Ask a blacksmith what he thinks, water and metal aren't as different as people think.