Do all liquids freeze at the same rate?
Different liquids will freeze at very different rates and at very different temperatures, even if an identically sized and shaped container of each liquid, starting at the same temperature, were put in the same very cold place. Reasons, applicable to a cooling liquid (with examples), include: 1. Different specific heat capacity – the amount of thermal energy that has to be removed from a given mass of the liquid to increase or reduce its temperature by 1 degree Kelvin. – Water: 4.18 Joules per gram (J/g) per degree – Alcohol (Ethanol): 2.44 J/g – Mercury: 0.14 J/g 2. Different freezing points – Water: 0C (32F) – Alcohol (Ethanol): -114C (-173F) – Mercury -40C (-40F) 3. Different “heat of fusion” (or “enthalpy of fusion”) – the amount of thermal energy that must be removed from a given mass of the liquid for it to change state into a solid. – Water: 335 Joules per gram (J/g) – Alcohol: 109 J/g – Mercury: 11.5 J/g To convert to (1) and (3) to Joules per cubic centimeter, multiply values
