Science At Home - The Mpemba Effect

Have you ever heard of the Mpemba Effect? It’s the name given to the idea that hot water freezes faster than cold water - something that Tanzanian student Erasto Mpemba observed in 1963. In this episode of Science At Home, we take advantage of a cold Saskatchewan winter day to put the Mpemba Effect to the test.

Try this experiment for yourself, and share your results below, or in the comments section of YouTube.

Would you like to learn more about the Mpemba Effect? Here’s a great writeup in the journal Nature.

In 2012, the Royal Society of Chemistry offered £1000 for the best and most creative explanation of the Mpemba Effect. They awarded the prize to Nikola Bregovic, at the time a research assistant at the University of Zagreb. The Royal Society of Chemistry has a wonderful article that details the contest, Mr. Bregovic’s winning entry, and the original paper written on the Mpemba Effect by Erasto Mpemba and Denis Osborne in 1969.


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