Friday, July 30, 2010

Making Ice Cream: A Lesson in Thermal Energy Transfer.

A hot summer afternoon can leave my body craving ice cream!....Currently my favorite flavor is Mint Patty from Golick's Dairy Bar in Dover NH. My husband is more a Strawberry Cheesecake fan at the moment.

While it is simple to order a cup or a dish from a local stand, it is more fun to make your own! If you are baby sitting for the summer or have younger siblings, you can even make an afternoon out of it! Be sure you are ready for the vigorous shaking, it can be a real work out....

So here is how making ice cream is science! (View the video provided for instructions and recipe)

The outer container is used to house the ice. Ice melts naturally because thermal energy (heat) likes to move from "hot" to "cold" places (high to low concentrations). So the thermal energy from the environment wants to transfer (move) to the ice which has less thermal energy. When heat is added to the ice it breaks the bonds in the ice and causes it to change state, from a solid to a liquid (melting). Salt is added to the ice in the outer container to depress, or lower its freezing point.....making it even colder and the melting process slower!

Another transfer of energy occurs simultaneously. The yummy mixture in the inner container has more thermal energy than the outer container, so again, heat transfers from the inner container to the outer container. When heat is removed from the inner container the mixture changes phases from a liquid to a solid! Yum!

Finally by shaking it with you hands, you are adding even more energy into the universe and speeding up the process!

Enjoy!

5 comments:

  1. Cool blog, Meredith! You have an engaging writing style and I learned some things already. Very nice!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you for writing blogs! They are so interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I make way better ice creams with my own ice cream machine.

    -Teky

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for the blog loaded with so many information. Stopping by your blog helped me to get what I was looking for.
    digital heat transfer service

    ReplyDelete


  5. According to a notification issued by the Punjab Examination Commission, remuneration of superintendents has been enhanced to Rs 700 from Rs 500, invigilators to Rs 400 from Rs 200, and peons and other Grade-4 employees, who perform duty in the examination centre, to Rs 200 from Rs 100 per day. A post of deputy superintendent has been notified, who will be paid Rs 600.

    8th ka result 2018
    pec 5th class result 2018 school wise
    8th class 2018 result

    ReplyDelete