Solved cryptogram
Water expands when it freezes, which is why ice floats and why pipes burst in a hard winter.
Chemistry Facts, sourced to U.S. Geological Survey.
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What it means
Almost every substance contracts as it solidifies, packing its molecules closer. Water does the opposite below four degrees Celsius, because hydrogen bonds force the molecules into an open crystal with gaps in it. The consequence is that lakes freeze from the top down and life survives underneath, rather than freezing solid from the bottom up and killing everything in them.
The claim comes from U.S. Geological Survey.
- SourceU.S. Geological Survey
- CollectionChemistry Facts
- Difficultyhard
- Length73 letters, 20 unique
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