X-Message-Number: 33232 From: "Eisab" <> References: <> Subject: latent heat of fusion Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:34:58 -0500 "Despite the control applied to the cooling of cells, most of the water present will freeze at approximately -2 C to -5 C. The change in state from liquid to crystalline form results in the release of energy in the form of heat; this is known as the latent heat of fusion. Warming of the sample occurs until the equilibrium freezing point is reached, at which temperature ice continues to form. To minimize the detrimental effects of this phenomenon, undercooling must be minimized by artificially inducing the formation of ice. This can be accomplished by seeding the suspension with ice or some other nucleating agent, or by rapidly dropping the temperature of the external environment to encourage ice crystal formation." http://www.nalgenelabware.com/techdata/Technical/cryo.pdf I wonder if the latent heat of fusion is a big problem in cryonics. Basie Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=33232