Interesting Facts to add to yer Genral noledge

[MartytheMartian]

OK been quiet for a few days on this thread so I'll bung another interestin' fact in.....

When water freezes the temperature rises.
In liquid form water molecules are all whizzing around with the energy they contain but, when you freeze them they are forced to come to a stop and all that kinetic energy that was present making them joggle about in the liquid form has to go somewhere and so is emitted as heat at the point of freezing.

 

[stevethegoolie]

If I'd remembered that, and a few more things, I might just have passed my Physics 'A' level exam all those years ago (1969). But not being a 'snowflake' I just thought "Bugger it!" and got on with my life.
Nice one, Marty!

 

[MartytheMartian]

I have to say that I screwed my Physics exams when I was at school. When I was supposed to be learning all the basics I was too busy discussing string theory, the latest ideas in quantum mechanics and relativity with my teacher. The rest of my class loved it because they got to do bugger all work but, when it came to the exams I barely scraped a pass as I knew more about the interior of the atom and Einstein than the maths of what happens when two little boxes on wheels of differing masses collide or when you drop things from a particular height.

 

[Big Sandy]

I'll be honest, the physics, chemistry and biology o level exams took me a sum total of 30 minutes. I arrived, wrote my name on the paper, and then wrote "don't know" for every answer.

Might have helped if I actually went to school instead of working on farms....