Question

Give some practical applications of specific latent heat of ice.

Answer 1

Specific latent heat of ice is very high (i.e.) 336 J/g.

1. Due to the high specific latent heat of ice, snow on mountains do not melt as a whole, but melts gradually into water with the heat of the sun.
   If the specific latent heat of ice would not have been so high, all the snow would have melted very quickly and there would have been floods in the rivers.
2. All the water in lakes and ponds in cold places do not freeze all at the same time. If freezes slowly and keeps the surrounding moderate.
3. Drinks are cooled more effectively by ice pieces at 0°C and not by water at 0°C. This is because 1 g of ice takes away 336 J of heat from the drink to melt into water at 0°C.