{"version": "1.0", "type": "rich", "title": "Bottle rocket under ice", "author_name": "kontextmaschine", "author_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "provider_name": "kontextmaschine", "provider_url": "https://kontextmaschine.com", "url": "https://kontextmaschine.com/post/703387933567336448/", "html": "\n\n\n

duran-duran-less-official:

\n\n

kyraneko:

inside-us-only-stars:

\n

ojavenger:

\n
\n

supernaturallysarcastic:

\n
\n

edwardspoonhands:

\n
\n

overtheunderpass:

\n
\n

surprise-adoption:

\n
\n

Bottle rocket under ice

\n
\n

rad\u00a0

\n
\n

I\u2019m pretty sure that the reason the ice fractured into six slices is the same reason snowflakes are often six sided and it has to do with the shape of a molecule of water and I just think that\u2019s so freaking cool.

\n
\n

How would it even stay lit though?

\n
\n

!!!!! it IS actually because of the structure of water molecules! Water molecules are fuckin weird, as are lots of other liquid substance molecules, because theyre shaped like fuckin HEXAGONS! hexagons are those weird, six-sided shapes that re very sturdy, but they dont tend to sit very well when stacked together. thats why, when you fill up a glass of water to its full capacity, it can go OVER the brim a little and not spill over. It\u2019s also why water beads.

\n

anyway, so since water is essentially made up of a gazillion little hexagons, it tends to gather into larger hexagons as it shapes together. this is not visible unless the water is in a solid form, aka ice. when the water is split, it tends to crack around the established hexagons. that bottle rocket exploded in the PERFECT place to show this phenomenon and its geeking me out.

\n

ALSO! the bottle rocket stays lit because the fuse was definitely waterproof and made with magnesium and an oxidizer of some sort. this means that they will burn underwater because they dont need the oxygen from the air to stay lit. thats so fucking weird isnt it. im tipsy and its the 4th of july. sorry for the science haha

\n
\n

Don\u2019t you dare apologize for science

\n
\n\n\n

Reblogging for science, explosions, and cool hexagons!

\n\n\n

@inside-us-only-stars @kyraneko @edwardspoonhands

I don\u2019t know why, but I need you all to know that Ojavenger just\u2026 made that up completely.

And when you take a moment to think about it, it\u2019s obvious that water is not shaped like a hexagon. Benzene is shaped like a hexagon because it has 6 different atoms all linked together. Water is 2 hydrogen atoms joined together by the oxygen atom in the middle. How does it make a hexagonal shape, in 2 OR 3 dimensions? Answer: it doesn\u2019t.

The closest approximation for the shape of water (probably don\u2019t google it using that exact phrase) is a tetrahedron, like a triangular pyramid.

Also the reason that water can seem to \u2018overflow\u2019 from a glass while still staying in the glass is because of surface tension, not hexagons.

"}