h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Can anyone tell me why Ice Cubes in an ice cube tray sometimes form stalagmites? Maybe once
a year, I open the Ice box and -instead of being flat on top- the ice cubes have little stalagtites of
solid ice coming up from the middle of some of them. I look at the top of the ice box and there are
no stalagtites.
Is this a strange capillary action type of phenomena?

Perhaps the rent is too high in the ice trays and the cubes are trying to get out??

Couldn't be... my ice box is a very low rent neighborhood. It isn't very crowded either, so they shouln't be trying to escape the busy life.

I can't think of any thing that I might have done to cause them to act like they do!

I've given this some serious thought and the problem is. . .
Track housing. No one likes it and it just runs the property value down. If you were to say, rezone and build it a little more family oriented they wouldn't make stalagmites. I'm just going to nip off and shoot myself now (BLAM!)

No need for violence. I think that I understand. I will therefore saw all of my icecube trays in to individual ice cube separatenesses. I will distance them and give them rolling hills to frolick in, and blue open sky to ... say, isnt this how ice cube trays reproduce? Give them space and they just fill it up with more of themselves? I know many people who moved out of thier apartment with several more trays than they moved in with.

What are you trying to cause?


Stalagmites? Why? Anyone?

In all seriousness, the only explaination I can see is that something jarred the fridge, causing a ripple effect and then they somehow flash froze. Any other theories?

Water expands as it freezes, and ice cubes freeze from the outside in. If the freezing process is slowed slightly - e.g. the door is opened at a crucial moment - the expanding ice pushes the water underneath down, and it pushes its way out of the thinnest part of the ice (the middle). On contact with the cold air the water then freezes into stalacmites.

This is, of course, pure conjecture, but it has the advantage of being plausible

Probably also to do with moisture from the air condensing on the ice cubes.

I thought about that, but couldn't see how this would happen disproportionately in the middle of each cube.

That could just possibly be it!

Just to clarify:

Stalactites go down
Stalagmites go up

When the mites go up
The tites come down.

And C the sun go down?
G, are you up?

Stalagtites cling tight to the ceiling.....true.

With regard to moisture condensing on to the surface of the cubes to form a column (or Stalagmite) in the centre of the
individual ice cube.....
-this is happening in a desert climate- ((not to be confused with the ice box being a dessert climate))

I am leaning towards the uneven freezing combined with warm water upwelling and freezing theory. Maybe tract housing
problems theory- I'm not certain.

Stalagtites do not cling to the ceiling, stalactites do.

Oh! I C now! What a strange mistake of hearing I have been prey to. Thank you. : )

Dragon caves teach you these things.

Dragon Caves?

It's an Alfandria thing.

http://www.chameleon.net/alfandria/