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by dandare
1577 days ago
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So this sent me down the wikipedia rabbit hole :D One thing I never realised is how dramatically the viscosity of water changes with temperature. This is probably why you can recognise hot water from a cold water in a video. Temperature (C) / Viscosity (mPa*s) 0.01 1.7911 10 1.3059 20 1.0016 25 0.89002 30 0.79722 40 0.65273 50 0.54652 60 0.46603 70 0.40355 80 0.35405 90 0.31417 99.606 0.28275 |
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Therefore, between 0 and 4°C the usual law of natural convection (heat rises) is inverted and you get "heat falls" instead.
What this means is that in winter, the ice on top of water can be frozen but the water can be warmer further down and resist further heat transfer. Natural convection will not act to cool the water from above, and a stable stratified temperature gradient can form. This allows bodies of water to remain liquid in winter for longer than you'd expect in a "normal" liquid.