Comments on: Ice Spikes, Building Science, & Sci-Fi Movies — A Little Friday Fun

By: Jim Shepherd

Jim Shepherd — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 21:25:04 +0000

I spent 45 years designing
I spent 45 years designing and building project in all parts of Alaska. The Native Alaskans have many names for snow and Ice that describe almost an infinite variety of textures, stability and visual effects. I find it very interesting that H20 is the only thing that expands as it phase changes from liquid to solid. When dealing with permafrost foundation conditions I have seen piles jacked 5 feet above their original position by frost heave. A series of freeze/thaw cycles and surrounding soils that hold moisture are the culprits. To meet the criteria for a PE licensee in Alaska you have to pass an Arctic Engineering class that contains a great deal of material that deals with engineering ice structures and dealing with permafrost issues. I could and probably should write a book about what we learned from the experience.

By: Curt Kinder

Curt Kinder — Sat, 25 Jan 2014 21:41:31 +0000

The ice cube trays I
The ice cube trays I experienced in the 1970s were aluminum with removable separators. Those beasts had a handle that forcibly rotated the separator slats, breaking the ice loose.

I still remember the freezer burns that arose handling those things, as well as my mother's wrath when I'd return a tray to the freezer w/o refilling it!

By: Leigha Dickens

Leigha Dickens — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 19:51:41 +0000

Here in the mountains I see
Here in the mountains I see those ice spikes on the ground sometimes in winter when hiking. In places where it's really exposed and so stays constantly windy and cold in winter, I've seen something really similar pointed sideways (leeward?) on trees branches and shrubs.

By: M. Johnson

M. Johnson — Fri, 24 Jan 2014 17:57:52 +0000

"Dark Star" is
"Dark Star" is indeed a fun movie if you can stand a little camp. John Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon wrote it, and O'Bannon starred as Sgt. Pinback. But you will be disappointed if you expect to actually see Carpenter in the film, he is not on the credits I see.

Meanwhile here in Houston, a TV reporter is informing us about how if a liquid raindrop hits a below-32F tree branch or other object, it turns into something solid. It doesn't happen much around here and the schools aren't what they used to be.