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Updated: Jul 12, 2026
09:12
A Method for Studying the Temperature Dependence of Dynamic Fracture and Fragmentation
Published on: June 28, 2015
Superheated ice: true compression fractures and fast internal melting
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|November 10, 1972
Summary
Internal melt figures in ice can form without vapor bubbles, exhibiting fracture-like growth distinct from typical Tyndall stars. Rapid melting leads to unique, systematic cloud formations of these figures.
Area of Science:
- Physics and Materials Science
Background:
- Tyndall figures, or stars, are typically formed by internal melting within ice and are associated with vapor bubbles.
- The nucleation and growth mechanisms of these figures are crucial for understanding ice physics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the formation of internal melt figures in ice independent of vapor bubbles.
- To characterize the morphology and growth patterns of these novel melt figures.
- To compare their growth to traditional Tyndall figures.
Main Methods:
- Controlled internal melting experiments were conducted on ice samples.
- Microscopic observation was used to document the nucleation and growth of melt figures.
- Analysis focused on the morphology and orientation of the figures, with and without vapor bubbles.
Main Results:
- Internal melt figures can nucleate and grow in ice without the presence of vapor bubbles.
- These bubble-free figures display fracture-like morphology and growth patterns.
- Rapidly growing, bubble-containing Tyndall figures deviate from basal plane orientation.
- Very rapid internal melting results in systematic formations of "clouds" of Tyndall figures.
Conclusions:
- The presence of vapor bubbles is not a prerequisite for internal ice melting figures.
- Melt figure morphology is influenced by the presence or absence of vapor bubbles and the rate of melting.
- Distinct growth mechanisms exist for bubble-free and bubble-containing internal melt features in ice.
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