Hard work
Question: It is well known that water expands when it freezes, which is why
frozen pipes burst. This means that water can do work as it freezes. Where does
the energy come from for this to happen? This is especially puzzling considering
that energy is being removed from the water in order to freeze it.
Answer: The answer is in the question. When water freezes, it releases
significant amounts of energy, called latent heat. If the water is in a pond,
this energy flows into the surrounding air as heat. But if the water is trapped
inside a…
