Frost "curls"

[Bob Wright]

Thread on cold weather reminded me of this.....Years ago I went horseback riding on a very cold day, not bitterly cold, but just cold. The ground was damp and it had been fairly mild. But then a sudden Artic blast swooped over the South. As I left the stables, I say little curlicues of frost sort of "screwing itself out of the ground, The frost looked somewhat like those mosquito coils. And touching one caused it to immediately disinergrate. Interesting little cold weather phenomenom. I assume the freezing ground squeezed it out.

Bob Wright

 

[Jeepnik]

I spent my working career dealing with water in one form or another. And I had never heard of this. By water is one of the most curious compounds on earth. It has properties nothing else has.

By the way one of my favorite myths is, "The water we have on earth is all the water we will ever have". Every time I have heard this uttered by"experts, degreed professionals, professors or even laymen" I simply ask one simple question and they usually shut up or say something even more foolish.

That question. When anything containing hydrogen is oxidized, what compounds created? Yep, one of them is water. And did you know water is one of the most stable compounds on earth.

 

[eveled]

Not curls, but little spires or columns of frost are common. Usually in bark mulch or similar loose material.

Sometimes they will even pick up small rocks. It is fascinating.