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During the final stage of freezing, an ice drop develops a pointy tip, which is not observed for most other liquids, and arises because water expands as it freezes. [10] Once the liquid is completely frozen, the sharp tip of the drop attracts water vapor in the air, much like a sharp metal lightning rod attracts electrical charges. [10]
Liquid oxygen has a clear cyan color and is strongly paramagnetic: it can be suspended between the poles of a powerful horseshoe magnet. [2] Liquid oxygen has a density of 1.141 kg/L (1.141 g/ml), slightly denser than liquid water, and is cryogenic with a freezing point of 54.36 K (−218.79 °C; −361.82 °F) and a boiling point of 90.19 K (−182.96 °C; −297.33 °F) at 1 bar (14.5 psi).
Most liquids freeze by crystallization, formation of crystalline solid from the uniform liquid. This is a first-order thermodynamic phase transition, which means that as long as solid and liquid coexist, the temperature of the whole system remains very nearly equal to the melting point due to the slow removal of heat when in contact with air, which is a poor heat conductor.
The distance between oxygen atoms along each bond is about 275 pm and is the same between any two bonded oxygen atoms in the lattice. The angle between bonds in the crystal lattice is very close to the tetrahedral angle of 109.5°, which is also quite close to the angle between hydrogen atoms in the water molecule (in the gas phase), which is ...
Hard rime forms by rapid freezing of supercooled water under at least moderate wind conditions. The droplets freeze more or less individually, leaving air gaps. Clear ice forms by slow freezing of supercooled water. Clear ice is typically transparent and homogeneous. Its amorphous and dense structure makes it adhesive.
Air is liquefied by the Linde process, in which air is alternately compressed, cooled, and expanded, each expansion results in a considerable reduction in temperature. With the lower temperature the molecules move more slowly and occupy less space, so the air changes phase to become liquid.
Ice pellets typically form alongside freezing rain, when a wet warm front ends up between colder and drier atmospheric layers. There, raindrops would both freeze and shrink in size due to evaporative cooling. [89] So-called snow pellets, or graupel, form when multiple water droplets freeze onto snowflakes until a soft ball-like shape is formed ...
Oxygen is used to perform several important functions in the steel manufacturing process. Many rockets and lunar landers use cryogenic gases as propellants. These include liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, and liquid methane. By freezing an automobile or truck tire in liquid nitrogen, the rubber is made brittle and can be crushed into small particles.