Want ice cubes fast? Use hot water instead of cooled water, you’ll be shocked at the results


Advertisements
 

Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:36 pm

There will be times where you want some ice cubes to cool your cup of burning coffee down, only to open the freezer and see that they’re still half-formed and watery. If you have experienced that before, even once, you’ll understand that burning frustration that makes you want to throw the entire cup of beverage away.

So we got to thinking, and wondered if there’s a hack out there that will make those damn ice cubes form faster. There’s plenty of hacks on fast ice cube productions out there on the net, but when we came across this method listed on wonderhowto.com, we were totally blown away; and we think you might be too.

Okay, this was what they suggest: instead of using normal room temperature water, opt to go for hot, freshly-boiled water instead. And it’s not because the ice cubes made from hot water will be of better quality, nor is it because it’ll make for clearer ice, but because the hot water freezes and form into ice cubes within a shorter period of time. Say what!

I know what you’re thinking. How the heck can hot water freeze faster than cooler water, right? Isn’t it correct that hot water has a bigger distance to transverse (bigger temperature drop) and so, need more time? Apparently not.

The phenomenon is known as the Mpemba effect, and it was studied in our very own Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore. The study showed that hot water is similar to cooled water on a molecular level, and has energy wound up so tight that when it is released, hot water cools and freezes faster than room temperature water.

So, now that you know, here’s what you got to do: boil some water, cool it down till it can be poured into the ice tray without melting the plastic, and wait for it to cool.

Now, you can enjoy clearer ice cubes in the comfort of your own home! Now we got to say this though: it’s said that if you subject your refrigerator and/or top box freezer to excessive abrupt change in temperature, you might be damaging your appliance. In addition, if you place stuff that is too hot within your fridge, your electricity bills might just increase because your refrigerator is spending more energy trying to cool that object down.

Top Image: r.classen / Shutterstock.com