Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 13, 2026
08:16
Ice Generation and the Heat and Mass Transfer Phenomena of Introducing Water to a Cold Bath of Brine
Published on: March 13, 2017
14.6K
Thermodynamic origin of surface melting on ice crystals.
Ken-Ichiro Murata1, Harutoshi Asakawa2, Ken Nagashima3
1Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan; murata@lowtem.hokudai.ac.jp.
Summary
Quasi-liquid layers (QLLs) on ice surfaces exhibit multiple wetting states and transitions, challenging the long-held belief of complete wetting. These QLLs are metastable, forming transiently rather than existing at equilibrium.
Area of Science:
- Physical Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Surface Science
Background:
- The conventional understanding posits that quasi-liquid layers (QLLs) homogeneously and completely wet ice surfaces, a concept originating from Michael Faraday's work.
- This widely accepted view has guided research in ice-surface interactions for decades.
Purpose of the Study:
- To challenge the established paradigm of complete wetting of ice surfaces by QLLs.
- To investigate the existence of multiple wetting states and thermodynamic behaviors of QLLs.
- To elucidate the formation conditions and equilibrium status of QLLs.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling of interfacial potentials and wetting phenomena.
- Experimental validation of predicted QLL behaviors.
- Analysis of QLL formation under varying humidity conditions (supersaturation and undersaturation).
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that QLLs exhibit more than two distinct wetting states.
- Identified a first-order wetting transition between these QLL states.
- Showed that QLLs form under both supersaturated and undersaturated conditions, but are absent at equilibrium.
- Established QLLs as metastable transient states, not equilibrium phenomena.
Conclusions:
- The spontaneous formation of QLLs in ice-vapor equilibrium is questioned.
- A novel physical model explains the wetting and thermodynamic behaviors of QLLs.
- A unique interfacial potential is identified as the sole determinant of QLL properties.
Related Concept Videos
02:39Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
15.5K
Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...
15.5K
02:33Phase Transitions: Sublimation and Deposition
20.7K
Some solids can transition directly into the gaseous state, bypassing the liquid state, via a process known as sublimation. At room temperature and standard pressure, a piece of dry ice (solid CO2) sublimes, appearing to gradually disappear without ever forming any liquid. Snow and ice sublimate at temperatures below the melting point of water, a slow process that may be accelerated by winds and the reduced atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. When solid iodine is warmed, the solid sublimes...
20.7K
02:54Molecular and Ionic Solids
20.6K
Crystalline solids are divided into four types: molecular, ionic, metallic, and covalent network based on the type of constituent units and their interparticle interactions.
Molecular Solids
Molecular crystalline solids, such as ice, sucrose (table sugar), and iodine, are solids that are composed of neutral molecules as their constituent units. These molecules are held together by weak intermolecular forces such as London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, or hydrogen bonds, which...
Molecular Solids
Molecular crystalline solids, such as ice, sucrose (table sugar), and iodine, are solids that are composed of neutral molecules as their constituent units. These molecules are held together by weak intermolecular forces such as London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, or hydrogen bonds, which...
20.6K
02:39Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
21.9K
The physical form of a substance changes on changing its temperature. For example, raising the temperature of a liquid causes the liquid to vaporize (convert into vapor). The process is called vaporization—a surface phenomenon. Vaporization occurs when the thermal motion of the molecules overcome the intermolecular forces, and the molecules (at the surface) escape into the gaseous state. When a liquid vaporizes in a closed container, gas molecules cannot escape. As these gas phase molecules...
21.9K
02:44Heating and Cooling Curves
28.4K
When a substance—isolated from its environment—is subjected to heat changes, corresponding changes in temperature and phase of the substance is observed; this is graphically represented by heating and cooling curves.
For instance, the addition of heat raises the temperature of a solid; the amount of heat absorbed depends on the heat capacity of the solid (q = mcsolidΔT). According to thermochemistry, the relation between the amount of heat absorbed or released by a substance, q, and its...
For instance, the addition of heat raises the temperature of a solid; the amount of heat absorbed depends on the heat capacity of the solid (q = mcsolidΔT). According to thermochemistry, the relation between the amount of heat absorbed or released by a substance, q, and its...
28.4K
02:49Second Law of Thermodynamics
27.7K
In the quest to identify a property that may reliably predict the spontaneity of a process, a promising candidate has been identified: entropy. Processes that involve an increase in entropy of the system (ΔS > 0) are very often spontaneous; however, examples to the contrary are plentiful. By expanding consideration of entropy changes to include the surroundings, a significant conclusion regarding the relation between this property and spontaneity may be reached. In thermodynamic models, the...
27.7K