Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Ice waves

This is interesting.
It's a good example of how fuzzy our thinking is. Immediately, to most, we believe it:
"The water froze the instant the wave broke through the ice. That's what it is like in Antarctica where it is the coldest weather in decades. Water freezes the instant it comes in contact with the air. The temperature of the water is already some degrees below freezing. Just look at how the wave froze in mid-air!"


But if you look at it straight, how the hell is that going to happen? Under what conditions will a big wave suddenly appear from nowhere? And presumerably suddenly break through a layer of ice already on the ocean? And then freeze in mid-air? It's ridiculous. What could lift all that water so high into the air?
And of course it is made even more silly by the version which has it happen in Michigan, USA.

3 comments:

Pascal [P-04referent] said...

Yeah, and I'm sure frozen waterfalls in winter have solidified in mid-air like some X-man using his mutant powers. Not!

Heavily seasoning such amazing phenomenons with "wow! impossible!" hype talk only spoils their true interest. A stupid distraction.

Philosophical drift again, but I samely feel that the marvels of Life and the Universe are symbolically diminished when some people just lob at everything their "this is all God's doing, praise the Lord".
No! Leave the Lord well in peace in the churches, and just admire the damn beauty for itself!

A rose smells just as good if you're not holding a bible. A mother's love is just as valuable if she's not following the Big Bearded Guy's orders to "love thine offspring". In fact, even more so. It's greater when it's spontaneous, generous, gratuitous, self justified.

It looks like a wave that would have frozen instantly, but it's not. Even the more impressive and beautiful.

Oh, and besides, if a whole mass of water froze within a second's time, it would shatter from the sudden pressure. Water freezes at the surface first. Ice dilation would make it burst from within if it froze very rapidly. Thermic shock. Never seen an ice cube crack?
Haven't read the linked article yet, but I'm betting this happened by successive layers of water freezing on top of each other. As a random hypothesis on the fly.

Monsieur Beep! said...

It's the work of Disney Studios! Like didn't they perform the moon landings long ago, too?

So easy.

Anonymous said...

they are certainly spectacular and beautiful when you take a look at the photos