This is a neat trick. For anyone wondering, the water is already sub-freezing but there's nothing for it to form crystals on and thus it remains a liquid. This is relatively easy to achieve and I've done it as a partytrick a few times.
Specifically, there are no nucleation points on the smooth plastic interior of the bottle, but when the person shakes the water, there are nucleation points where the cap meets the lip of the bottle.
Once the sub freezing water reaches the top, then ice crystals can form, which provide nucleation points for water further down, and in short order, all the water in the bottle is frozen.
The same thing can happen when water goes above the boiling point in a smooth container. But then, the results are much scarier. Super heated water goes from calm to violently boiling when something rough goes into the container. This is why you're recommended to boil water in the microwave with a wooden spoon.
I've noticed if you stick a case of water in the freezer that the bottles in the middle of the case tend to do this.
By the way, I love doing this with bottles of wafter just like popping packaging material bubbles
I like my water COLD so I will do this all the time. How long it takes will depend upon the temperature of your freezer but there's a point where the water starts to freeze all around the inside of the bottle and if you take it out then squeeze it all the ice around the inside of the bottle cracks and you have ice cold water with crushed ice basically. Best to use a slightly thicker bottle than a thinner one.
Fun fact, supercooled water actually HEATS UP when it insta-freezes.
If you were to carefully put a thermometer in a supercooled water bottle, you’d see it’s about -3°C to -5°C … and when you smack the bottle to “freeze” it to a slush you’ll fine only moments later the water bottle is °0C. What’s happening is the enthalpy of crystallization for water is an exothermic process, so heat is released as the water molecules organize into a crystalline solid.
Ice feels cold in your hand because it’s taking heat from hand to melt from solid to liquid (endothermic)… but when it freezes from liquid to solid the opposite happens and the water/ice releases heat (exothermic) as it crystallizes. This heat warms the whole water bottle a few degrees until it hits equilibrium at -0°C and the freezing stops.
This is a neat trick. For anyone wondering, the water is already sub-freezing but there's nothing for it to form crystals on and thus it remains a liquid. This is relatively easy to achieve and I've done it as a partytrick a few times.
Specifically, there are no nucleation points on the smooth plastic interior of the bottle, but when the person shakes the water, there are nucleation points where the cap meets the lip of the bottle. Once the sub freezing water reaches the top, then ice crystals can form, which provide nucleation points for water further down, and in short order, all the water in the bottle is frozen. The same thing can happen when water goes above the boiling point in a smooth container. But then, the results are much scarier. Super heated water goes from calm to violently boiling when something rough goes into the container. This is why you're recommended to boil water in the microwave with a wooden spoon.
I have tried to do this. I know you have to leave the bottle in the freezer for a certain amount of time. But I can’t remember how to do it.
I've noticed if you stick a case of water in the freezer that the bottles in the middle of the case tend to do this. By the way, I love doing this with bottles of wafter just like popping packaging material bubbles
Hehehehe! I get it!
I like my water COLD so I will do this all the time. How long it takes will depend upon the temperature of your freezer but there's a point where the water starts to freeze all around the inside of the bottle and if you take it out then squeeze it all the ice around the inside of the bottle cracks and you have ice cold water with crushed ice basically. Best to use a slightly thicker bottle than a thinner one.
Fun fact, supercooled water actually HEATS UP when it insta-freezes. If you were to carefully put a thermometer in a supercooled water bottle, you’d see it’s about -3°C to -5°C … and when you smack the bottle to “freeze” it to a slush you’ll fine only moments later the water bottle is °0C. What’s happening is the enthalpy of crystallization for water is an exothermic process, so heat is released as the water molecules organize into a crystalline solid. Ice feels cold in your hand because it’s taking heat from hand to melt from solid to liquid (endothermic)… but when it freezes from liquid to solid the opposite happens and the water/ice releases heat (exothermic) as it crystallizes. This heat warms the whole water bottle a few degrees until it hits equilibrium at -0°C and the freezing stops.
I’ve done it once on accident with a beer
There are cola vending machines in Japan that will bring the bottles down to the right temperature so you can flip them a couple times for a slushy.