Does Ice Conduct Electricity?

I

in-too-deep

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Just came in from chores, and house is quiet, so I thought I'd bug you guys. This question has been bothering me since I plugged in the stock tank heaters sometime this fall. Take some ice, frozen solid all the way through, no liquid water in or on it...will it conduct electricity and if it does, how much resistance...any? My gut feeling says no, it won't conduct, but I have no idea why.

 

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

I've always 'heard' that water is a poor conductor of electricity- but it is the minerals in the water that conducts the ZAP! I'll wait for you to conduct the necessary experiments! If services are on Tuesday, I'll try to make it!.

 

O

old

Well-known Member

Location

Camdenton Missouri

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

It will conduct, how well not sure but water does so ice would also
Hobby farm

 

J

John T

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

YES, It can conduct electricity, its resistance is a function of how many and what types of minerals and/or other impurities are present.

John T

 

R

RayP(MI)

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Freezing water, however tends to push impurities out, and the ice becomes more pure than the water you started with. Because of the crystal lattice of the ice tries to form a very unifor structure, and impurities are forced out. This is a method chemists use to purify various chemicals. Where do the impurities go? Check the bottom of a well used ice cube tray. I still wouldn"t trust ice not to conduct electricity.

 

OP

OP

I

in-too-deep

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Thanks, bud! Would ya mind feeding the cows and woodstove for me while you're here? I don't think I'll be up to it.

 

OP

OP

I

in-too-deep

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Well that's what I figured, but freezing rearranges the little bits of stuff water is made of...so I wondered.

 

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Stand on some ice and touch the electric fence wire.Let us know...

 

J

Jon Hagen

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

LOL, Another thing ice is good for is freezing in a low voltage connection(6 or 12V ) and jacking the connections apart so you get a no crank or no start condition in the meanest weather. ;-)

 

OP

OP

I

in-too-deep

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Well, there is that option. I was hoping someone had tried that already and I could learn from them ; )

 

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Not a problem- got rid of the dairy 7 years ago, but still remember which end of the shovel to grab onto. Not my favorite task though- got hit by a truck 5 years ago, I get my new hip in Jan., so usually pass on the heavy stuff this year. Extremely glad to get done with crop work this fall. Spent 2 days making 7 steps on three tractors and the combine so nothing is over a foot off the ground.

 

J

John T

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

I agree, buttttt neither would I trust it NOT to conduct even if freezeing helps reduce impurities, fer sure its resistance depends on mineral and impurities etc etc but looks neither of us is willing to grab hold of an ice block with a hot voltage lead attached OUCH lol

John

 

T

trucker40

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Not sure,but if you take a couple of ice cubes and put one on each side of a plug in I think you can find out.Might want to get a flashlight just in case you kick the lights off first.

 

D

dave guest

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Years ago troubleshooting a conveyor circuit, I recall wire with resistance of 7 or 8 thousand ohms to ground. It was a JIC box full of water on the splice. Take your ohm meter and stick on ice cube. Easy and safe. Just tried it ICE no reading on analog or digital like infinity. Cup of water 10 thousand with analog and 900K digital. Think I will try 120 volt with 150watt bulb in series later. Stay alert.

 

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Well John T you may have to slap me up side the head for this so I will duck once I post. A line man for our local utility said ----PURE water does not conduct. He was talking to our local fire dept at the time. Of course we don't try to kill ourselves by (like the old saying goes) testing the water.

He also shocked us by telling us that our town of 700 runs on a 15 amp fuse. After explaining the voltage thing, it makes sence. I guess that is one of those things ya never think about.

I respect your opinion greatly John so fire away, you help us all out often. I'm going to test you on a odd ball post real soon. Thank You.

 

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

I'm gonna say yes. My Christmas (yes I said Christmas and not Holiday... Don't like it then kiss my American butt!) lights were working fine for weeks then we get this nice freezing rain and the GFI trips. I finally had to unplug them all and plug them in one by one to see which is the culprit. What happened is the plugs froze over the female ends and apparently are conducting across.

 

Janicholson

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Quantifying: A one quart glass container, about as high as wide, with distilled water in it will not conduct enough elecrticity to light a 25 watt 120 volt light bulb, if two silver teaspoons are used as electrodes, and placed on opposite sides in the continer. (that does not mean it has no flow of electrons, it means the light will not get bright enough to glow at all.
putting in salt 1/4 teaspoon at a time will bring the light to full bright at about 1-1/2 teaspoons full. (the salt must be stirred into the water, do it with the power off!!) It is indeed the minerals. JimN

 

J

John T

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

Hey, I got no problem with what you say, if you note my statement was basically saying the conductivity is greater (i.e. less resistive) if more minerals or impurities etc are present and that remains true and since about all water (unless distilled and perfectly pure and mineral free) has some of that stuff present (even if frozen with less junk) it CERTAINLY is conductive. Nowwwwww resistivity/conductivilty are still somewhat relative terms, I bet even pure distilled water will pass some x amount of current given a certain voltage potential versus the distance between electrodes soooooooooooooooo water or ice is still conductive PERIOD albeit the resistance stillllllllllll remains a function of the minerals and impurities......

SEE NO NEED TO DUCK LOL

John T thats my story n Ima stickin to it

 

K

kyplowboy

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

If you are on county water, call the local treatment plant and ask them what their conductivity readings have been the last few days. The smaller the number they give you, the better off you are.

Dave

 

OP

OP

I

in-too-deep

Well-known Member

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

So, if a block of water and a block of ice held the same amount of impurities arranged the same way, they would conduct electricity equally as well?

 

olgentdc

Well-known Member

Location

Harrison County , Elizabeth Ind 47117

• Dec 20, 2008

• #1

All this Science Stuff using Salt and spoons mentioned above is interesting. ..... from a Farmboy point of veiw I must Agree with You OLD.. And I am not willing to play BEN FRANKLIN to prove it or to wager a Ben Franklin.....

 

T

TN_TIM

New User

• Dec 21, 2008

• #1

Per my old textbook - Ice has a volumetric resistivity approximately 144 times that of water.

 

J

John T

Well-known Member

• Dec 21, 2008

• #1

Good question there, hey I'm about runnin outa smarts here now lol, chemistry n molecules n all that ELECTROCHEMICAL stuff and I dont get along. I guess iffffffffffff all the molecules n minerals n impurities were of the same exact molecular structure the conductivity would be the same buttttttttttttttttttttt according to some of the more electrochemical knowledgeable gents have alluded to I'M NOT SURE THAT POSSIBLE IN ICE VERSUS WATER????????

REGARDLESS I STILL STAND BY THE BLANKET STATEMENT (be it ice or water) the concuctivity (think of it as opposite of resistance) still depends on the minerals and impurities present and while even perfect pure NO minerals or imputities distiled water may be extremely high resistance to electron flow (versus lower resistance tap water), I still consider resistance/conductivity as RELATIVE terms so I WOULDNT EVER SAY water or ice is or is not an electrical conductor.......

Ask me about a DC generator or tractor ignition next time lol this ice n water n minerals stuff is gettin outa my leauge......

Merry Christams Yall

John T

 

B

buickanddeere

Well-known Member

• Dec 21, 2008

• #1

Pure water or ice no. We run pure demin water through the hollow centers of the conductor bars/windings of the 24,000 volt generators for cooling.
If the heating element is failing. The cattle will get enough voltage they won't want to drink even though you can't feel it.
I doubt more that 1 on 1000 metal water troughs are grounded with buried ground plates and/or rods.
Probably the single best ground rod out there is a drilled well casing.

 

L

Larry D.

Member

• Dec 21, 2008

• #1

You Right on JoeBob... On the Christmas, A Merry Christmas and a Happy Ny to Ya' from Ga.and I hope a Prosperous 09'for ALL of Us! Larry KF4LKU

 

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

• Dec 21, 2008

• #1

I refuse to install a water without a new ground rod. Those simple minded folks that design waters sure don't give you alot of extra room however.

I went on a service call and the farmer showed me how the pigs would tremble and squeel all the time they drank water. No dead ones anyway.

 

A

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member

• Dec 21, 2008

• #1

Anybody ever pee on an electric fence?
Anybody ever see the fire dept. spray water on a building right through power lines?
I don't know the answers. Just wondering.

I've seen cattle lap water from a tank with their tongue just like a dog. Found out we had stray voltage and so they wouldn't put their noses in the water. Only drank enough to survive.

 

M

Mark - IN.

Well-known Member

• Dec 21, 2008

• #1

One sure way to find out. Guess could cut the ends off of an extension cord, strip them, plug in the other end, then touch one conductor to one side of an ice cube, and the other to the other. Personally, I wouldn't do it, but someone might. In case it does, and does well, don't tell the Emergency Room folks, the undertaker, the lawyer, the wife, or anyone else that got the idea from me though. I think that it does though. Saw a chevy suburban back into a power pole along the highway the other day so hard that it broke the power lines from three spans of poles that fed an industrial park. Thats a pretty hard hit. The power lines had burned their way through the ice of the culvert they were lying on, and it takes current to do that, and current takes a conductor. The only conductor present was that ice over the top of that water touching ground. Whatever transformer those lines were coming from obviously had some stiff fuses.

Mark

 

OP

OP

I

in-too-deep

Well-known Member

• Dec 21, 2008

• #1

Thanks, John. Always enjoy your responses.