IanWhy Does Ice Float?
July 30th 2010 02:57
A substance will float in water or other liquids if it is less dense, or has less mass per unit volume.
An unusual property of ice is that the solid is approximately 9% less dense than liquid water. Ice is the only known non-metallic substance to expand when it freezes. This interesting phenomenon is what causes bottled water to explode when frozen.
It also causes ice bergs to float, which may not have been so great for the Titanic! As these pictures show, ice is 9% less dense than water, so only 9% of the ice berg will be above the surface at any one time!
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