Quote:
Originally Posted by dchan
Isn't the specific heat capacity of ice roughly half that of liquid water? If the firm is able to successfully creating 'naleds', I'd be curious to see if the concept actually pans out according to their theory, or whether it makes the heat worse because of the difference in respective heat capacities between liquid water and ice.
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Yes and no. Liquid water has a higher specific heat capacity, but there's only so much heat that can be removed from water before it turns into.... ice. To continue be cooled, ice has to be formed. Plus the longer the ice survives into the summer, the more sunlight it will reflect, preventing it being absorbed by the water.
You're effectively implying that on a hot day, a glass full of cold water will stay colder longer than a glass full of water and some ice.
The ice has to absorb more energy than the water before it comes to thermal equilibrium with its surroundings.