We all know that water freezes at 0°C. But does it freeze harder at lower temps?

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My freezer is set at -21°C (-6°F) and tubs of ice cream come out hard as a rock and are near impossible to scoop. But if I set it a few degrees warmer, yet still way below the freezing point of water, I can scoop it easily. So, is there such a thing as both frozen and *really* frozen? Conversely, a boiling point is a boiling point, I believe. Heating water to a temp above 100°C gets you the same steam that you got at 100, just faster. Right?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

without going into too much detail, I believe ice will become slightly more *brittle* (which isn’t the same as hardness). As will most things as they cool further. Your ice cream situation however is a mixture of many things not just water. Kind of how alcohol doesn’t freeze at 0 despite being a majority water.

Alternatively, steam isn’t always just steam. it can become something classified as superheated steam, and then eventually it can become something called plasma and obscenely high temps/pressures.

For funsies, its also possible for water to exists as liquid, solid, and gas *simultaneously* at the *triple point.*

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