24 days of kitchen oceanography
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Deposition ("resublimation")
Why is there ice on my frozen strawberry jam?
Experiment 20:
Ice can form from liquid water but also from water vapor. When a substance changes its phase from gaseous directly into solid, this is called "resublimation" (or deposition). This happens for example when slightly humid, warm air enters the freezer when the door is opened, and then cools – especially on the cold walls, the floor and the ceiling of the compartment – and ice crystals form. This is the reason why you have to occasionally defrost even the ceiling of the freezer compartment although there was certainly never a liquid leak!
In nature, this is how ice flowers and hoarfrost are formed.