MadSci Network: Physics |
The easy answer to your question is because alcohol's freezing point is -117 degrees and water's freezing point is 0 degrees. Your refrigerator doesn't get cold enough to freeze alcohol. A better answer is motion. A solid has very little motion of the molecules. As the heat is raised, the amount of motion increases. Eventually, the motion is large enough for the transition to a liquid to occur. You would think that the size of the molecule would influence the freezing point temperature. And generally, it does. So why does alcohol, with a molecular wt of 46, freeze at a lower temperature than water, which has a molecular wt of 18? Another factor comes into play. This factor is called hydrogen bonding. It causes an increased attraction between molecules which makes them harder to separate(or put into motion). This raises the freezing point. I hope this quick explanation helps.
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Physics.
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