Janet Hinze
Why does my water freeze in this pattern like dandelion fluff (pictured above)?
Alex McDowell,
London, UK
As the water freezes, it first forms a crust of ice at the surface and at the interface with the container, and dissolved gases migrate into the part that remains liquid. In the liquid part, the solubility of gases rises as it cools, but the liquid still becomes supersaturated and bubbles form.
Gases are insoluble in ice, hence all the remaining dissolved gases precipitate out as the core finally freezes. This is why the ice cube is transparent in places where it first…
