It’s extremely cold out there, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun during Manitoba’s deep freeze.
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Viral videos of people turning boiling water into snow – or bubbles into ice orbs – are a common sight, and even some local sports heroes are trying it out.
Recently re-signed Winnipeg Blue Bomber Adam Bighill gave it a shot, filming an Instagram video (in a t-shirt!) with the hashtag #SavageCold.
…but why does the cold do this?
According to National Geographic, the water-to-snow stunt works because water can exist as a liquid, a gas and a solid at the same time.
When water is boiled, energy is added to the water in its liquid state. That energy moves the molecules farther away from each other until the water vapourizes into a gas.
Due to the heat, those tiny water droplets start to vapourize… but because the cold air can’t hold as much water vapour as warmer air, the water condenses.In the extreme cold – like the deep freeze currently affecting Manitoba – the droplets are quickly frozen, causing them to fall as ice crystals.A similar reaction happens with bubbles – they form when a layer of water molecules gets trapped between two layers of soap molecules.Add extreme cold to the mix, and the water layer freezes before the bubble has a chance to pop.The colder it is outside, the longer the bubble will retain its shape.Thankfully for Winnipeggers – but maybe not so much for science experiments – the extreme weather is only temporary.Forecasts are predicting a return to seasonal temperatures in the negative-teens by Friday.WATCH: Extreme cold: When temperatures drop, these things just stop