If hot water rises, why does ice form on the top of water than the bottom?
In: Chemistry
Hot water rises, but freezing water rises as well! Water is densest at 4 °C, anything warmer than that will rise to the top, but if the water is cooled below this temperature then it will “swap around” and the freezing water (along with the ice) will rise, while the (slightly) warmer water will sink to the bottom.
Why does this happen? Unfortunately, that’s a pretty complicated question to answer, well beyond the scope of an ELI5, I’m afraid. It has something to do with how the individual hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water molecules interact with the atoms in the water molecules that are next to them. Water is just weird like that.
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