What happens if you put water and ice in an (almost) indestructible box?

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If I filled a box TO THE BRIM with 75% water and 25% ice, sealed the box shut in a way that it was as if it was never openable, and then waited for the ice to melt, what would happen? Would it manage to destroy the box? Would I accidentally start a black hole that would suck up the Earth and kill us all?

In: Physics

7 Answers

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Ice is bigger then water. So when ice melts into water it shrinks. This lowers the pressure inside the container. A regular container might get crushed by the atmospheric pressure outside it when this happens, either just deforming the container or it might damage the container. However your almost indestructible box will handle this just fine. In fact any sturdy container will handle a bit of underpressure without even deforming. Even if you fill it all the way with ice and let it melt. You might have some problems opening the lid though, this is what often happens to screw lids in the fridge that can make it hard to open.

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