Can ice levitate on a cushion of steam?
While liquid water can float on a bed of vapor via the Leidenfrost effect, recent research explores whether ice can achieve the same. This video demonstrates the counterintuitive physics of phase transitions and the extreme temperatures required to make ice levitate.
The Leidenfrost effect, first described in 1751, occurs when a liquid droplet on a surface heated to 1 or more 150 degrees Celsius (302 degrees Fahrenheit) creates a trapped vapor cushion, allowing it to levitate like an air hockey puck [S2:p3, S2:p4].
Researchers Jonathan Boreyko and Mojtaba Edalatpour investigated if ice could exhibit this three-phase effect involving solid, liquid, and vapor [S2:p2, S2:p4]. They discovered that while liquid water levitates at 150 degrees Celsius, ice requires a much higher threshold of 550 degrees Celsius (1022 degrees Fahrenheit) to levitate [S2:p3, S2:p5]. Below this temperature, the meltwater beneath the ice boils in direct contact with the surface, driven by the temperature differential in the meltwater layer [S2:p5, S2:p6].
Source: How ice water makes hot water boil
