Ice cubes are small, roughly cube-shaped pieces of
iceIce is a solid phase, usually crystalline, of a non-metallic substance that is liquid or gas at room temperature, such as carbon dioxide ice , ammonia ice, or methane ice. However, the predominant use of the term ice is for water ice, technically restricted to one of the 15 known crystalline phases...
, conventionally used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are often preferred over crushed ice because they melt more slowly; they are standard in
mixed drinkA mixed drink is a beverage in which two or more ingredients are mixed.-Types:Some popular types of mixed drinks are:* Cobbler, a beverage made with wine or sherry, citrus juice, and sugar...
s that call for ice, in which case the drink is said to be "on the rocks."
Ice cubes are produced domestically by filling an ice cube tray with water and placing it in a freezer. Many freezers also come equipped with an
icemakerAn icemaker, ice maker, or ice machine may refer to either a consumer device for making ice, found inside a home freezer; a stand-alone appliance for making ice, or an industrial machine for making ice on a large scale...
, which produces ice cubes automatically and stores them in a bin from which they can be dispensed directly into a glass.
Ice cubes are small, roughly cube-shaped pieces of
iceIce is a solid phase, usually crystalline, of a non-metallic substance that is liquid or gas at room temperature, such as carbon dioxide ice , ammonia ice, or methane ice. However, the predominant use of the term ice is for water ice, technically restricted to one of the 15 known crystalline phases...
, conventionally used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are often preferred over crushed ice because they melt more slowly; they are standard in
mixed drinkA mixed drink is a beverage in which two or more ingredients are mixed.-Types:Some popular types of mixed drinks are:* Cobbler, a beverage made with wine or sherry, citrus juice, and sugar...
s that call for ice, in which case the drink is said to be "on the rocks."
Ice cubes are produced domestically by filling an ice cube tray with water and placing it in a freezer. Many freezers also come equipped with an
icemakerAn icemaker, ice maker, or ice machine may refer to either a consumer device for making ice, found inside a home freezer; a stand-alone appliance for making ice, or an industrial machine for making ice on a large scale...
, which produces ice cubes automatically and stores them in a bin from which they can be dispensed directly into a glass. Ice cubes out of a tray are generally longer and thinner, requiring less force to remove them from the tray and thereby reducing the likelihood of the cube becoming stuck in the dispenser.
There are also dedicated ice-maker machines used to produce ice cubes of for laboratories and academic use.
Ice cubes are also produced commercially and sold in bulk; these ice cubes, despite their name, are often
cylindricalA cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given straight line, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder...
, and may have holes through the center. An interesting characteristic of commercially made ice cubes is that they are completely clear, lacking the clouding found in the center of domestically made ice cubes.
Cloudy ice cubes result when water is frozen quickly, or ice is allowed to form on the surface of the water. When water is cooled to its
freezing pointFreezing Point is a news journal in the People's Republic of China which has been the subject of controversy over its criticism of Communist Party officials and the sympathetic ear it lent to a Chinese historian who had criticized official history textbooks...
, and ice starts to form, dissolved gases can no longer stay in solution and come out as microscopic bubbles. However, as ice floats in water, once there is enough ice to form a layer on the surface, the ice layer traps all bubbles within the ice cube. Ice-makers use a flowing source of water to make ice with cooling elements at the bottom, allowing the bubbles to be washed away from the top as the cube grows.
Melting ice cubes sometimes precipitate white flakes, commonly known as "floaties". This is
calcium carbonateCalcium carbonate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula CaCO
3. It is a common substance found in rock in all parts of the world, and is the main component of shells of marine organisms, snails, pearls, and eggshells. Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in agricultural...
which is present in many water supplies and is completely harmless.
Ice cubes can also be crushed or sheared into irregularly-shaped flakes, adding an interesting aesthetic effect to some
cocktailA cocktail is a style of mixed drink. Originally a mixture of distilled spirits, sugar, water, and bitters, the word has gradually come to mean almost any mixed drink containing alcohol....
s. Crushed ice is also used when faster cooling is desired, since the rate of cooling is governed by the number and average radius of the ice particles.
Ice Cube Predecessor
American physician and humanitarian
John GorrieJohn Gorrie , physician, scientist, inventor, and humanitarian, is considered the father of refrigeration and air conditioning. He was born on the Island of Nevis to Scottish parents on October 3, 1802, and spent his childhood in South Carolina...
built a refrigerator in 1844 with the purpose of cooling air. His refrigerator produced ice which he hung from the ceiling in a basin. One can form an argument that
John GorrieJohn Gorrie , physician, scientist, inventor, and humanitarian, is considered the father of refrigeration and air conditioning. He was born on the Island of Nevis to Scottish parents on October 3, 1802, and spent his childhood in South Carolina...
is the grandfather of the ice cube. However, his intent was not to cool drinks. Rather, he used the ice to cool the ambient room temperature. During his time, a dominant idea was that
bad air quality caused diseaseThe miasmatic theory of disease held that diseases such as cholera, chlamydia or the Black Death were caused by a miasma , a noxious form of "bad air". This concept has been supplanted by the germ theory of disease....
. Therefore, in order to help treat sickness, he pushed for the draining of swamps and the cooling of sickrooms.
Ice cube tray
An ice cube tray is a
plasticPlastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products...
,
rubberNatural rubber is an elastomer that was originally derived from a milky colloidal suspension, or latex, found in the sap of some plants. The purified form of natural rubber is the chemical polyisoprene, which can also be produced synthetically...
or
metalA metal is a chemical element that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat, forms cations and ionic bonds with non-metals. In chemistry, a metal is an element, compound, or alloy characterized by high electrical conductivity. In a metal, atoms readily lose electrons to form positive ions...
tray divided into compartments. It is designed to be filled with
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
, then placed in a freezer until the water freezes to
iceIce is a solid phase, usually crystalline, of a non-metallic substance that is liquid or gas at room temperature, such as carbon dioxide ice , ammonia ice, or methane ice. However, the predominant use of the term ice is for water ice, technically restricted to one of the 15 known crystalline phases...
, producing ice cubes. Trays are often flexible, so the frozen cubes can be easily removed by flexing the tray. An alternative system is an aluminum tray with a lever that raises the ice cubes, freeing them from the tray. A motorized version of this is found in most automatic ice-making freezers.
While the usual shape of the ice 'cube' is roughly cubical, there are trays that dispense hemispherical or cylindrical blocks. These are commonly referred to as
ice tubes. Some novelty trays produce blocks of ice in seasonal, festive or other shapes (such as some trays sold by
DisneyThe Walt Disney Company , often simply known as Disney, is the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world, known for its family-friendly products...
).
Recent demand for premium, safe drink ice has created a new niche market for disposable ice trays which can be cost- effectively transported or stored at room temperature, whilst protecting the consumer from contaminants such as fecal matter, E. Coli or
fertilizerFertilizers are chemical compounds applied to promote plant and fruit growth. Fertilizers are usually applied either through the soil or by foliar feeding...
residue commonly found in mis-handled ice cube trays and un-safe water supplies.
The first flexible stainless steel, all-metal ice cube tray was created by Guy L. Tinkham in 1933. The tray bent sideways to remove the ice cubes.
The first rubber ice cube tray was invented by
Lloyd Groff CopemanLloyd Groff Copeman was a prolific and successful American inventor who was responsible for devising the first electric stove, an early form of the microwave oven and the flexible rubber ice cube tray, among other products. Mr...
. One day in 1928, while walking through some woods collecting sap for maple syrup, Copeman noticed that slush and ice flaked off his rubber boots rather than adhering to them. Having recalled this incident over lunch with his patent attorney, he conducted experiments using rubber cups. Later, he set about designing and then patenting different types of tray: a metal tray with rubber separators, a metal tray with individual rubber cups, and a tray made completely of rubber.
See also
- Icepick
An ice pick is a tool used to break-up, pick, or chip at ice. It resembles a scratch awl, but is designed for picking at ice rather than wood...
- Ice spike
An ice spike is an upward-facing icicle that forms as a body of water freezes. Ice spikes can form in natural environments or can be made artificially by freezing distilled water in plastic ice cube trays.Water expands when it freezes...
- Ice pack
An ice pack is a plastic sac of crushed or cubed ice, refrigerant gel or liquid, or even frozen vegetables. The refrigerant, usually non-toxic, can absorb a considerable amount of heat, since its specific heat capacity is high....
- Refrigeration
Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and moving it to a place where it is unobjectionable. The primary purpose of refrigeration is lowering the temperature of the enclosed space or substance and then maintaining that lower temperature.The term...
- Pagophagia
Pagophagia is a form of pica involving the compulsive consumption of ice or iced drinks.It has been associated with iron deficiency anemia, and shown to respond to iron supplementation,,...
External links
Ice Cube Companies - Natural Rocks Ice http://www.NaturalRocksIce.com