Ice-cutting Experiment

Description:  In this experiment, by Derek Muller at Veritasium, a copper wire and fishing string are attached to weights and placed over a block of ice. An increase in pressure causes the ices to melt below the wire and freeze after. The difference in behavior of the wire and the string are related to the material since metal is a better thermal conductor of heat. This phenomenon can be used in a unit on the particle model and state change. It can also be used to compare the thermal conductivity of different materials.

Web Resources:  Regelation, Wikipedia, Thermal conductivity - Wikipedia

On mobile, click here for the answer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQCVnjGUv24 When ice is put under pressure, its melting point decreases. When that pressure is removed it goes back to being solid. This process is known as 'regelation'. In this experiment regelation of ice is attempted with copper wire and fishing line of the same diameter.