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What has caused this huge wedge shaped hollow ice crystal to form?

This morning I found a huge wedge shaped ice crystal formed on the suface of a garden bucket. It was frozen all around but the water inside the wedge was not frozen. There was nothing in the bucket to stimulate that particular shape to form. It was simply a bucket of water.

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Pedant says:

If the bucket wasn't completely full, the North side of the ice wedge would tend to be thinner since the edge of the bucket would shade any residual heating effect from the sun on the South side of the water surface. The freezing point decreases with depth because of increasing pressure so the ice will take up a wedge shape which reflects a lateral temperature gradient across the underside of the wedge.

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posted on 2010-02-23 12:30:33 | Report abuse


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