The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1869-02-04
Curio sites of Ice.

In 1890 Mr.. araday discovered that two
pieces OF ice placed in contact, froze togeth.
er, almost instantly. Mr.. Tyndall says
Zone hot summer day entered shop Oh
the Strand. On the window fragments OF
ice were lying in a basin. The tradesman
gave me permission to take the piece of ice
III my hand. Holding the first piece, at
tached all the other pieces in the basin to t.
The thermometer was then above sixty de.
grees, ANA yet all the pieces were frozen to-
gether." In this way Mr.. Tyndall formed
a cham Of ice. This experiment may bt
made even in hot water. Throw two piece.
OF ice in a pailfull of almost boiling water
keep them in contact and they will freeze
together despite the high temperature. Mr.
taraday made another experiment of the
same sort, He threw into vessel full O.
water several small pieces of ice. They
foated on the surface of the water. The
moment one piece touched another there
was an instantaneous refreezing. Attrac.
ton soon brought all the pieces in contact
50 that in an instant an ice chain was form
ed
An lee wheel turning on a surface of ice
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the rotation a series of cracks are hear
which show the ear that successive refreez
ing IS constantly taking place. The phe.
nomenon of retreezing is easily explained
AT the surface of a piece of ice the atoms
which are no longer il equilibrium on the
outside, tend TO leave their neighbors, as
happens in boiling or evaporation. Meltinc
ensues. But if two pieces of ice are
brought together, the atoms on the surface
are restored to their equilibrium, the at
tractlye action becomes what it was, the
atoms resume their relations with their
neighbors, and juXtapostion ensues. In
consequence Of this property ice is endow-
ed with singular Elasticity. A rope and
knot or buckle may be made of ice. 1t
may be moulded. The schoolboy who fills
his hands with snow and congresses it into
a ball, produces the phenomenon Of refreez-
ing, and forms an ice-ball sufficiently hard
TO prove dangerous projectle
This explains the extraordinary rigidity
OF the bridges of snow which are often
seen in the Alps suspended over deep crev-
ices. The Alpine guides by cautiously
walking on those snowy masses freeze the
particles together and transform the snow
into ice. Ifsnow be compressed in :noulds.
zee statuettes may be obtained. Fill hol-
low bail with snow pressed as hard as Jos
slbe, and you may obtain ice balls admi-
rably translucid. Nothing would be easier
than to dine with a service of moulded
snow-plates, glasses, decanters, all of
snow. A gentleman in Paris recently serv-
ed sherry wine to his friends before q hot
fire IN beakers made Of snow. Snow COM
pressed in this way does not melt so rapid
ly as might be thought Ice requires a
great deal OF heat before it melts. A layer
OF Ice often becomes a protection against
cold, If you would prevent anything siuk-
ing to temperature below thirty-two de-
grees, during the very severest frosts, we
know you have but to wrap it in wet rags.
The process Of freezing gives to the envi-
ronlng bodies all the heat necessary to des-
troy it. The water ia the rags slowly forms
small pieces Of ice on the rag, and ia the
meantime diaengages heat, which warns
the object wrapped in the rags A tree
wrapped III rags, or in moss saturated with
water, does not freeze even when the ther-
mometer is several degrees below the point.
The slowness with which ice mels is well
known. During the winter of 174O the
Gar built at st. Petersburg a magnificent
palace OF ice which lasted several years.
Ia Siberia the windows have panes of ice.
The remarkable property with which parti-
cles OF ice are endowed of moulding them
selves into different shapes by refreezing,
easily explains how glaciers make their
way through narrow gorges, and expand in
valleys. The ice is broken into fra gments
which retreeze whenever they touch.