Why does hot water freeze faster than cold water sometimes?

Question

I heard about this thing called the Mpemba effect where hot water can freeze quicker than cold water under certain conditions. How does that even work?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

To start with there is still ongoing debate about if it is even a thing. – [source](https://arxiv.org/abs/2010.07287) Taken from the Wikipedia article on the topic.

That out of the way, the [Wikipedia article on the effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mpemba_effect#Suggested_explanations) has a section covering possible explanations. It is one of those things where it’s unclear if it’s a real effect, and thus there are no real answers. Mainly because there hasn’t been exhaustive research into it.