"RCE" wrote in message
...

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in message
news:bbKyh.2321

The alcohol gone - water remaining & freezing idea seems the most
plausible at this point.


Water and water vapor is an interesting and complex subject. I spent the
better part of my career dealing with their effects and properties in
reduced pressure (vacuum chambers) vessels. Water vapor does not follow
natural gas laws and is the bane of those of us trying to create high
vacuum environments (equal to 200-300 miles in space) here on earth.

Place a cup of water in a large vacuum system and begin to remove the air,
reducing the atmospheric pressure. The water will quickly freeze at the
reduced pressure. Continue to reduce the pressure and the block of ice
will suddenly start to rapidly boil ... in the blink of an eye. Continue
to reduce the pressure and it will suddenly freeze again and begin to
sublimate (goes from solid to vapor without becoming a solid).

All of this happens at what range of temperatures? When you're reducing the
air pressure, the temp is remaining fairly constant?




It also has weird properties when it condenses. Picture a snowflake with
all of it's points. Each point becomes a nucleation site for the next bit
of water vapor. Enough of them and they form an insulating lay whereby no
further nucleation takes place. That's why you don't get 3 inches of
frost on your windshield. The process stops once the outer surface is
insulated sufficiently from the cold glass where the initial nucleation
took place.

Eisboch