An officer of the Portland, Maine,
Police Department tested the air temperature on Feb. 24 by throwing
a glass of water outside, only for it to freeze as it came into
contact with the bitter air.
Police in Portland, Maine created a visual representation of the dangerously cold weather conditions yesterday.
To demonstrate just how cold it was in front of his precinct, this officer threw a cup of water into the air. Through the magic of slow-motion (thanks, new iPhones!), we can see the water turn from its drinkable liquid state to its cold and angry counter-part, ice.
Of course, it doesn't look like ice. It looks like a cloud.
The officer doesn't say, but I have to assume that the water he threw was boiling.Because it was so close to steam, the water broke into smaller droplets when thrown into the air than would cold water. With more surface area, the heat is expelled quicker, so instead of mostly water droplets falling to the ground, or giant ice chunks (it would have to be an unlivable cold for that to happen), we get a bunch of tiny ice crystals that float away in a cloud.
Police in Maine: guarding the streets from water, one cup at a time.