I got myself a glass of water, and when I went to put ice in it (yeah, I know it's winter, but I'm wearing a sweater, cut me some slack) I saw that the cubes, which previously were normal sized for the tray, had shrunk.
I also remembered that when I had placed ice cubes in the holding bucket in my freezer at home, they shrank there too.
What's the deal? Growing up, we had the problem with the cubes GROWING as frost built up on them. Has the technology for freezers changed so much?
RIP Lovely wife
3 months ago
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You know, I've been wondering that as well. I Googled, "shrinking ice cubes" and found this article (see infra). As soon as I started reading it, I thought, "Oh, duh." Sorry for the allcaps, I promise it isn't my fault.
ReplyDeleteQ: When I don't use the ice cubes in the tray for a week or longer, when I go to use them they are shriveled or appear as if they're shrinking. I was wondering why they would do that or if there is something wrong with my freezer.
A: WE FOUND YOUR ANSWER IN, WHAT EINSTEIN DIDN'T KNOW, A BOOK BY ROBERT WOLKE. AND THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOUR FREEZER BUT YOUR ICE CUBES ARE SUBLIMATING.
SUBLIMATION IS WHEN A SUBSTANCE CHANGES FROM A SOLID DIRECTLY TO A GAS WITHOUT TURNING INTO A LIQUID FIRST. HOW DOES THIS EXPLAIN YOUR SHRINKING ICE CUBES, WELL, THE SURFACE MOLECULES OF AN ICE CUBE ARE NOT ATTACHED AS FIRMLY AS THE MOLECULES WITHIN.
THE OUTER MOLECULES WANT TO HOP OFF AND SPREAD AROUND IN THE FREEZER BUT WHEN THEY TRY TO LIFT OFF IN A FROST FREE FREEZER, A STREAM OF AIR SUCKS THEM AWAY SO THEY WON'T FORM ICE CRYSTALS ON YOUR COOL WHIP AND OTHER FROZEN GOODIES.
THE FAKE WIND WAKES EXCITES THE NEXT LAYER MOLECULES ON THE ICE CUBE AND SUBLIMATION SPEEDS UP, AND YOUR ICE CUBES SHRINK.
THE ICE CUBE MOLECULES CONDENSE AND FREEZE ON THE EVAPORATOR COIL INSIDE THE FREEZER WALL. PERIODICALLY, THE COIL HEATS UP TO SHED THIS ICE AND YOUR EX-ICE CUBES, LIQUID AT LAST, TRICKLE INTO A PAN UNDER THE FRIDGE WHERE HEAT FROM THE MOTOR CAUSES THEM TO GASSIFY ONCE AGAIN.
From:
http://www.nbc4.com/answerstoaskliz2002/1477700/detail.html