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Re: ice & water



Would the water still expand if it was in a container that contained no
air at all? Which textbooks say the space is taken up by air?

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| Robert Cohen Department of Physics |
| East Stroudsburg University |
| bbq@esu.edu East Stroudsburg, PA 18301 |
| http://www.esu.edu/~bbq/ (570) 422-3428 |
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On Fri, 15 Oct 1999, Kathy Daniel wrote:

As I teach about water's unusual properties, we always discuss how water
expands as it freezes from 4° C to 0° C, and I have explained that the
lattice framework of ice crystals is forming. This structure has more
volume than the liquid water. I have thought that the extra volume is
taken up by empty space, but I have seen numerous references in the
textbooks which say the space is not space but is trapped air.
Am I mistaken, or is this another case of textbook error?

Thanks,
Kathy Daniel
Oakland High School