CLEVELAND — This week's Trip Up Trent segment went to Cory in Hudson.
Cory wanted to know why only the water on top of lakes and ponds freezes.
The short answer is that ice is less dense than water and floats.
The long answer is a bit more complicated. When things cool, they get denser. That's why heat rises. If that's the case then why doesn't the ice sink? It's colder than the water... right? Yes, water freezes when it cools to 32 degrees but the physical change water goes through in the freezing process is a little different. It actually expands. That makes it less dense than the unfrozen water and it floats on top. Thankfully it does that, we'd have some big problems if not.
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