The Surprising Superpower of Ice: How Water Defies the Rules

In the previous article, we explored the miraculous nature of water, particularly the fascinating fact that it is liquid at all. Generally, substances behave predictably, but water stands out due to its extreme changes in behavior at different temperatures.

The Extraordinary Ice Phenomenon:

As temperatures drop, all materials contract (molecules draw closer to each other), while increasing heat causes them to expand (molecules disperse). However, water showcases a unique trait as it cools.

Like all natural substances, water's volume decreases as it cools from room temperature until it reaches precisely 4 degrees Celsius. At this point, an astounding event occurs: instead of shrinking, water begins to expand! When water reaches the freezing point at 0 degrees, it turns into solid ice, increasing in volume with an additional 10% air. This explains why a glass bottle can shatter when frozen—the expanding water breaks it from within. This peculiar and rare occurrence is known as "the anomaly of water."

How does this "magic" happen?

As temperatures drop, water molecules suddenly form into hexagon-shaped 3D rings and bind together. The hexagon is both the most stable shape in chemistry and rich in empty spaces, which form the structure of ice crystals—trapping air and contributing to their volume.

Even if this phenomenon had no practical application, it is still remarkable in its complexity, akin to a magician performing an awe-inspiring juggling act. However, water's behavior below 4 degrees serves a vital purpose.

As water freezes and expands, ice becomes less dense than liquid water, allowing it to float. Enormous icebergs drifting in polar seas, towering 300 meters high and weighing tons, float easily, with seven-eighths of their mass submerged yet never sinking to the seabed.

This astonishing phenomenon has far-reaching implications: during cold seasons, sea, river, and lake surfaces freeze, forming a protective barrier against the cold for the fish and marine life below. Thanks to this natural wonder, ice floats rather than sinks.

If water behaved like other materials and contracted in the cold, heavy ice layers would sink sequentially to the ocean floor. Surface waters would freeze and sink, eventually freezing entire bodies of water from bottom to top, freezing all aquatic life within. The Northern Ice Sea would become a solid mass of ice. The environmental and geographical consequences would be catastrophic, including rapid melting in warm months, causing dangerous sea-level surges. Lakes and rivers would overflow, flooding the land. Without this miraculous law—a true wonder—the world would be unrecognizable.

Marine ecology would collapse, and humans could not survive harsh winters in cold regions. Europe, Russia, and the United States might not exist as we know them. Humanity would be confined to tiny tropical areas, struggling for living space.

Moreover, plant life worldwide would be devastated. If ice contracted, it would freeze trees, cutting off their oxygen and suffocating them, crushing delicate flowers and plants under its weight. Half our planet would turn into a barren desert!

But thanks to water's anomaly, snow acts as excellent insulation. Ice crystals trap air inside, creating a thin snowfall that blankets trees and vegetation like a fluffy duvet in winter, protecting them from cold winds while supplying oxygen. Despite subzero winter temperatures, plant life beneath thrives, much like the fish in the sea.

When temperatures rise in spring, rather than finding withered, dead vegetation from the cold, snow uncovers vibrant, living greenery! This is one of creation's greatest wonders, supporting abundant aquatic life, vibrant plant growth, and the thriving ecology of nature, all under humanity's care.

Rather than destroying, ice safeguards the living beings beneath. A whole underwater world thrives below seemingly frozen seas and lakes, even when atmospheric temperatures plummet to bone-chilling lows.

Ice also provides an insulating layer for both aquatic life and the liquid water beneath. Water under ice remains above freezing, ensuring fluidity. People in cold climates can break the ice to access drinking water or fish, as the Inuit do.

This isn't the place for another wondrous fact, but it's interesting to note that fish in the Arctic are protected from cold by a special mechanism Hashem embedded in their bodies—proteins in their blood prevent the formation of tiny ice crystals that could block their blood vessels.

In the next and final piece of this series, we will explore, with Hashem's help, the third miraculous secret of water: the marvel of clouds swirling above us.