So we consider heat to be energy. But what is the reaction of putting ice cubes into a drink? Is this not energy too?
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Heat energy always transfers from a hot environment to a cold one. In the case where you place a cold ice cube into a glass of water, heat energy transfers from the water to the ice cube, causing the water within the ice cube to change from a solid state to a liquid state.
If you drop an ice cube into a cup of warm water, the ice has less energy than the water. So energy is transferred from the water (cooling it) to the ice (warming it). The ice would be an absorber of the water’s energy.
It’s just two different energy levels meeting in the middle.
(energy in this case means “intermolecular kinetic energy”, which is basically what heat is)
Why does this happen? Think of a pool ball hitting stationary pool ball. After the collison, the stationary ball is now moving, and the moving ball is moving slower. Now replace the pool balls with atoms.
The ice has energy, otherwise it would be at absolute zero (-273 degrees C). It feels colder because it has less energy than the drink. Leave any two objects, at different temperatures, together in the same box and the resulting temp will be a blend of the two. The ice cools the drink and the drink melts the ice.
For example, according to ChatGPT 100g of ice at zero degrees PLUS 1000g of water at 20 degrees gives you 1100 grams at 19 degrees.
both the drink and the ice cube have energy. the ice cube just has much less energy. what is happening is it is balancing between both the water and ice. so your drink ends up with less average energy and you interpret that as colder.
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imagine the ice cube is a guy with $1 dollar, and you have $99. you average your money and now both of you have $50. You have lost money, even though the total amount did increase
I could be (probably) wrong but wouldn’t the contrast of temperature, the drink being warmer than the ice, be a transfer of energy which is what melts the ice?