The reason that snow melts on the edges is that there is no liquid water below to'carry away' the absorbed heat. Out in the center, as the ice absorbs heat,it will warm the almost-zero-centigrade water just below it. When it does so, this water becomes more dense and sinks (remember, the densest water is at 4 degrees centigrade). This acts to carry away heat and thus retard the ice's melting.
Hello! This was a very interesting and relevant question (considering the amount of snow we are getting) to us so I thought that it would be fun to answer. And it was! First off, snow around the edges of a pile of snow would melt before the snow in the middle of a pile of snow because of Heat Capacity. Heat Capacity means how much heat it takes to change the temperature of an object. And with the help of Heat Fusion, this is how much heat it takes for a 'phase change', or the melting from solid to liquid, the outside of the pile of snow would melt before the inside. Also, you have to use your common sense for this one. For example, if you had a large block of metal and you put it in an area with hot fire, would the inside melt before the outside, or the other way around? I will let you answer that one. Well, that is my answer. Have a nice day!
Hi. The answer to this is there isnt any liquids since ice is a solid to transport the heat that the ice had absorbed. In the middle the ice absorbs heat and warms water that is directly under it.
4 comments:
The reason that snow melts on the edges is that there is no liquid water below to'carry away' the absorbed heat. Out in the center, as the ice absorbs heat,it will warm the almost-zero-centigrade water just below it. When it does so, this water becomes more dense and sinks (remember, the densest water is at 4 degrees centigrade). This acts to carry away heat and thus retard the ice's melting.
Sources- http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99595.htm
Hello! This was a very interesting and relevant question (considering the amount of snow we are getting) to us so I thought that it would be fun to answer. And it was! First off, snow around the edges of a pile of snow would melt before the snow in the middle of a pile of snow because of Heat Capacity. Heat Capacity means how much heat it takes to change the temperature of an object. And with the help of Heat Fusion, this is how much heat it takes for a 'phase change', or the melting from solid to liquid, the outside of the pile of snow would melt before the inside. Also, you have to use your common sense for this one. For example, if you had a large block of metal and you put it in an area with hot fire, would the inside melt before the outside, or the other way around? I will let you answer that one. Well, that is my answer. Have a nice day!
~~~njguy320
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99595.htm
Hi. The answer to this is there isnt any liquids since ice is a solid to transport the heat that the ice had absorbed. In the middle the ice absorbs heat and warms water that is directly under it.
sorry i forgot to add the url it is http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng995
Post a Comment