When you need ice cubes the most is usually the one time you forget to fill your ice cube trays with water. This is especially inconvenient if you’re having guests over and need ice to put in their drinks. Luckily, you do have some options when you need to make ice fast.
Try out these tricks the next time you need ice but can’t afford to wait for it to freeze.
How Long Does it Normally Take to Freeze Water?
Normally, it takes anywhere from three to four hours for water to freeze in your freezer at home. Water freezes after its temperature reaches 32 degrees Fahrenheit, though this can depend on a variety of factors, including:
- The size of the cubes
- The air temperature in the freezer
- Whether there are any food items at room temperature in the freezer
How Increasing the Water Surface Area Can More Quickly Freeze Water
Increasing the surface area of the water in contact with the cold air of your freezer can make it freeze faster. The optimal way to freeze ice is by using ice trays specially designed for this purpose. The water in an ice tray designed to make small ice cubes will also freeze faster.
Also, ice trays with an empty space between each cube allows the water to freeze faster due to increased contact with the cold air.
The Mpemba Effect and How it Works
Another way to freeze water fast is by using hot water instead of cold. This should only take about two hours compared to three or four hours. Believe it or not, hot water actually freezes faster than cold water under the same conditions. But how exactly does it work?
The process is named after Erasto Mpemba, the Tanzanian student who discovered it. The phenomenon actually goes back further than that to Aristotle in the 4th Century AD, though Mpemba was the first person to actually study it, along with his professor, and write a paper about the effect in 1969.
The way the Mpemba Effect is thought to work is through the faster freezing rate created by currents and temperature gradients that form in the heated water. These currents and gradients allow the water to cool much faster because it contributes to the quick release of heat from the water’s surface.
Other Explanations for the Mpemba Effect
In addition to the above-mentioned explanation for the Mpemba Effect, there are some other theories as to why this rapid freezing occurs, including:
- Evaporation: One theory holds that evaporation of the hot water reduces the overall mass of the water to be frozen. And while some feel this is a contributing factor, it does not account for the whole effect.
- Dissolved Gases: Cold water is said to contain a higher number of dissolved gases, which contribute to its slower cooling process when compared to hot water, which contain fewer gases.
- Hydrogen Bonding: The rate of hydrogen bonding is another factor that is believed to contribute to hot water freezing faster as compared to cold water. This reduction in the hydrogen bonds found in hot water means temperatures are more evenly distributed as the water freezes, making it freeze faster.
Use an Ice Maker to Make Ice Cubes Fast
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If you really want to make ice fast without having to use hot water, buy an ice maker. An ice maker freezes water by exposing the water in the metal ice tray directly to the compressor coils. This in turn results in a faster production of ice as opposed to using a standard ice cube tray.
Source: One Good Thing by Jillee
