Korean Job Discussion Forums

[TheFonz]

[Bo Peabody]

[Qinella]

Are vodka bottles not sealed properly, then?

Something that still boggles me is why my vodka freezes solid in the freezer. It's my drink of choice, you see, and I'm being forced to store it in the refrigerator so I don't have to wait 5 minutes for it to thaw when I want some.

Even when I put it in the freezer prior to being opened, it will still freeze.

I started a thread on it here, and no one could come up with an explanation. Maybe some fresh thought can enlighten me?

[pegpig]

[Qinella]

I have no idea what my freezer's set at. The knob in the refrigerator is set between 4-5, 5 being coldest. I went to 3.5 and my things weren't coming out cold enough, so I took it back up some.

This same problem happened to me at my last apartment in Korea. Frozen vodka. I really don't understand it. In the US, I never had vodka freeze, ever.

Some suggested reasons from Dave's users:

1. Someone is sneaking into my apartment and drinking the vodka, then replacing the missing portion with water.

2. My freezer is too cold.


Since this is a physics thread, and we all know how Dave's is overrun by physics majors who can't find a good job back home, I expect the deluge of poignant information to begin shortly.

[ontheway]

There is no liquid oxygen or liquid hydrogen involved here. The temperatures or pressures necessary to create them do not exist in ordinary bottles or freezers.

Likewise, there is no new water being formed. Oxygen exists in the air in a stable form O2 and hydrogen likewise H2 and they do not recombine so easily.

Qinella's vodka freezes because his freezer is set cold enough for the water and alcohol content to freeze as a mixture. 0 degrees C. is enough for the water and -15 or so for the drinking kind of alcohol. Since alcohol contracts as it freezes and water expands, the higher alcohol content means there is enough space. The water and alcohol can freeze without excess pressure or the container exploding.

EFL's situation seems to be this: Water expands just before it freezes. When the bottle is sealed and under pressure, it takes more force to expand and freeze. It might have to be colder in your freezer, and it certainly takes longer, to freeze. When you open the bottle the pressure is released and gas escapes. The water is suddenly free to expand and freeze, so the portion consisting of water freezes. The escaping gas will also be active and takes energy (heat) with it leaving the remaining liquid cooler so it can freeze easier. (No new water need be made. The gasses: O2, CO2, H2 etc. do not change form.) Had he waited longer, the water portion would have frozen forming a slushy
drink, followed by the alcohol, inside the bottle.

The same principle of expanding water is why your soda bottle or can explodes in the freezer. It gets colder and colder. It is supercooled but under pressure. It remains a liquid as long as the container is intact. Finally, the force of expansion of the water exceeds the strength of the container. The liquid expands, the container explodes and the liquid freezes in a very short time, almost instantaneously AFTER the explosion. That is why you find frozen goo sprayed all over the freezer. It was a supercooled liquid in the process of freezing as it sprayed out of the exploding container, freezing on its way and as it hit the surrounding surfaces and objects. If you remove the bottle when the liquid inside it is cold enough to freeze, but before it is cold enough to explode, then the contents will partially freeze when you open the bottle.


Have you ever heard of supercooled liquids that suddenly freeze when an impurity or other disturbance is introduced? Another interesting physics problem.

This is what I remember from my physics and chemistry classes.

Now, will someone Google this so we can find out the expert answer.

[merlot]

facinating read











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[EFLtrainer]

On the way, that sounds like the likely winning answer. But I'm not gonna google; YOU google. You don't wanna google? Let's get Mikey! He'll google anything....