Hooked on science: Creating ice spikes

As our recent blast of winter weather melts away we are seeing plenty of icicles, but have you ever seen an upward-facing icicle? They exist, and you can create them in your freezer with a few ingredients from around the house.

Materials

• Ice tray
• Distilled water
• Freezer

Instructions

STEP 1: Pour the distilled water into the ice tray.

STEP 2: Place the ice tray into the freezer and check back the next day.

Explanation

As the water freezes and expands from the edges, the water from the inside is forced through the top of the developing ice cube. If the conditions are just right the water being forced through the top will freeze into an ice spike.

Jason Lindsey is a Science Outreach Educator with Hooked on Science. Check out his website "Hooked On Science" at hookedonscience.org for webcasts and experiments that might get you hooked on science. Send him your science questions at jlindsey@hookedonscience.org. More science experiments can be found at www.semissourian.com.