The Mpemba effect is the name given to the observation that a liquid (typically water) which is initially hot can freeze faster than the same liquid which begins cold, under otherwise similar conditions. There is disagreement about its theoretical basis and the parameters required to produce the effect.[1][2]
The Mpemba effect is named after Tanzanian scientist Erasto Bartholomeo Mpemba, who described it in 1963 as a secondary school student. The initial discovery and observations of the effect originate in ancient times; Aristotle said that it was common knowledge.[3]
- ^ Burridge, Henry C.; Linden, Paul F. (2016). "Questioning the Mpemba effect: Hot water does not cool more quickly than cold". Scientific Reports. 6: 37665. Bibcode:2016NatSR...637665B. doi:10.1038/srep37665. PMC 5121640. PMID 27883034.
- ^ Tao, Yunwen; Zou, Wenli; Jia, Junteng; Li, Wei; Cremer, Dieter (2017). "Different Ways of Hydrogen Bonding in Water - Why Does Warm Water Freeze Faster than Cold Water?". Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation. 13 (1): 55–76. doi:10.1021/acs.jctc.6b00735. PMID 27996255.
- ^ Aristotle in E. W. Webster, Meteorologica I, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1923, pp. 348b–349a.