7 Science Phenomena That Are Basically Magic

6. Instant Magic Ice

Give yourself the powers of Queen Elsa herself with this neat little trick. Freeze a bottle of purified water to at least -8°C, then carefully remove it from the freezer. You can then be slightly less careful as you smack it against a hard surface and watch it magically turn to ice before your very eyes.

So, how does it work? Water will usually freeze at 0°C, but that's because normal water is full of impurities. In order for ice crystals to form, they need a nucleus to build up from. Purified water is free from any of these impurities and can therefore be chilled far below zero without freezing. Bashing the bottle down on the counter causes little bubbles to form, giving the ice crystals something to hang on to and causing a runaway freezing effect.