Spring, the sun, icicles, or ice stalactites are ice hanging from roofs, wires, trees, and other objects on which snow lay and after the onset of the thaw began to melt. Most often, icicles are cone-shaped, but sometimes they can take on very bizarre outlines.
Instructions
Step 1
Icicles are formed because the snow in elevated places begins to melt under the rays of the warm spring sun. The resulting water droplets find a short path and flow down. The temperature at the base of the roof or other elevations is always much lower, moreover, the positive temperature is kept only on the hill, while the air temperature can be minus.
Step 2
Droplets of melted snow freeze, ice forms. As the snow melts, flowing down in the same place, another drop by drop is layered on the already formed ice. It turns out a huge ice stalactite, resembling a carrot in shape. Icicle growth stops completely as water stops flowing.
Step 3
If the snow has completely melted, the resulting ice stalactite stops growing in size and begins to slowly melt. If, as it grows, the weight of the icicle exceeds the maximum permissible strength of the formed ice, it will collapse. Passers-by are in danger, since the ice can have a very large mass, therefore, utilities must timely deal not with the already formed icicles, but with the cause of their appearance, which is the snow.
Step 4
In closed spaces, dripping water flows down from a hill, forms an icy stalactite, a large layer of ice growing upward can form under an icicle. As the ice forms, the icicle and the formed stalagmite merge, resulting in huge ice columns that can be observed when visiting the cave. Cave ice may not melt all year round, and in summer visitors find themselves in a real winter fairy tale.
Step 5
In the conditions of the city, icicles are a big disaster, they can not only lead to death, but also spoil the structures of buildings, structures, cut off electrical wires, therefore, utilities that did not take care of snow removal in a timely manner are fighting icicles with all available methods: using steam, electrical impulses, ultrasound, laser.
