# Cold Gin, what is this phenomenon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 23, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054 "2003-08-23T00:40:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/1 "2003-08-23T00:40:47Z")
I put a bottle of Bambay Sapphire in the freezer, and after it got as cold as it was going to get it came out more syrupy than at room temperature. This seems like an in between state of matter, but that’s probably not the case. The molecules are slowing down, but just not stopped right? Is there a word for this? Temperauture related viscocity? Side note: what besides “dry ice” sublimates? ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/2 "2003-08-23T01:13:36Z")
Cold stuff gets slower. It’s as simple as that. You can replicate something similar to this: Get a balloon, inflate it, then put it in the freezer. It’ll shrink as it gets colder. When you take it out, it’ll almost instantly begin expanding again. There’s no “in-between” state about it. The three (ignoring plasma) states of matter are solid, where matter has a definite shape and volume, liquid, where it has no definite shape but definite volume, and gas, that has neither definite shape or volume. Other ways to witness this phenomena: Most bridges built these days have little “separations” made of metal. These are to allow the bridge room to expand in hot temperatures, and contract in low temperature, without putting undo stress on the structure over time. As for your dry ice question, I don’t know off the top of my head, and I’m about to leave work, so I don’t have time to look it up. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/3 "2003-08-23T01:14:39Z")
Oh, and by the way… excellent choice of gin. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/4 "2003-08-23T02:55:14Z")
re dry ice: are you asking because of the recent staff report [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdryice.html](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdryice.html) ? There’ve been a few related threads in Comments on Staff Reports. Check there for more info. Lots of things sublime if the conditions are right. Have you noticed that ice cubes in trays in your freezer seem to shrink when they haven’t been used for a while? The ice has sublimed. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/5 "2003-08-23T03:19:23Z")
To add to the original question: why do some liquids become less viscous at cool temperatures (like gin) while others do not (like water)? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/6 "2003-08-23T03:39:08Z")
Any solid with its boiling point above room temperature will sublimate like dry ice does. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/7 "2003-08-23T04:49:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Speaker for the Dead \* > \*\*Any solid with its boiling point above room temperature will sublimate like dry ice does. \*\* WTF? 😕 Iron to pick an element has a boiling point **above** room temp (at least it did the last time I looked) and it for sure exists as a liquid. ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/8 "2003-08-23T05:28:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmackFu \* > \*\*To add to the original question: why do some liquids become less viscous at cool temperatures (like gin) while others do not (like water)? \*\* But the gin became **more** viscous - it became thicker & syrupy & harder to pour. BTW, what are you defining as cool temperatures here? If you mean below zero, the only reason water isn’t a viscous liquid at that point is because it’s turned into a solid (ignoring supercooling, that is ;)). Pure ethanol doesn’t freeze till -117°C, so how low are we talking about :D? dnooman, had your gin also turned whiteish at all instead of clear? Not just gone gluey but actually changed colour somewhat? If so, you have have miniature ice crystals forming in the liquid (& you probably do anyway, even if it didn’t go whiteish). They can’t grow very large, if the alcohol is pure enough, due to the lack of impurities to freeze around, but that’s what I was always told caused the glueiness of freezer vodka (I know you mentioned gin, but it’s generally vodka that I know of being stored in the freezer). This vodka site mentions making it as pure as possible to avoid ice crystals forming when stored in the freezer - [http://www.ahardyusa.com/vodka.html](http://www.ahardyusa.com/vodka.html) Another thing that is done is to put a chip of ice into the vodka & put it in the freezer - the water then freezes around the ice chip & the alcohol remains unfrozen. I’m not sure what the maximum alcohol content is before this isn’t very productive in a regular domestic freezer, but it’s a form of distillation - freeze distillation. Rick - maybe Speaker meant boiling point **below** room temperature? ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/9 "2003-08-23T05:53:20Z")
Forget room temperature. Anything that has a boiling point below its _melting point_ at atmospheric pressure will sublimate. Like these things: AlCl[sub]3[/sub], AlF[sub]3[/sub], AlN, Nh[sub]4[/sub]Br, NH[sub]4[/sub]Cl As BeBr[sub]2[/sub], BeF[sub]2[/sub] BN CdS FCN, ICN, CO[sub]2[/sub] CrCl[sub]3[/sub] GaF[sub]3[/sub], GaN, Ga[sub]2[/sub]O GeO, GeS InCl[sub]3[/sub] IF[sub]7[/sub] Li[sub]2[/sub]O Hg[sub]2[/sub]Br[sub]2[/sub], Hg[sub]2[/sub]Cl[sub]2[/sub], HgS NiCl[sub]2[/sub] N[sub]2[/sub]O[sub]5[/sub] P, PCl[sub]5[/sub], PH[sub]4[/sub]Br, P[sub]2[/sub]O[sub]5[/sub] SeCl[sub]4[/sub], SeF[sub]6[/sub], SeO[sub]2[/sub] SiC, SiF[sub]4[/sub], Si[sub]3[/sub]N[sub]4[/sub], SiS[sub]2[/sub] Na[sub]2[/sub]O SF[sub]6[/sub] TeF[sub]6[/sub], TeO[sub]2[/sub] TiCl[sub]3[/sub] UF[sub]6[/sub] VCl[sub]2[/sub] ZnS ZrCl[sub]4[/sub] Happy? ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/10 "2003-08-23T06:09:26Z")
Actually that list would be better with the temperatures ([sup]o[/sup]C): AlCl[sub]3[/sub] 180, AlF[sub]3[/sub] 1257, AlN 1870, Nh[sub]4[/sub]Br 452, NH[sub]4[/sub]Cl 340 As 613 BeBr[sub]2[/sub] 474, BeF[sub]2[/sub] 800 BN 3000 CdS 980 FCN -72, ICN 45, CO[sub]2[/sub] -78 CrCl[sub]3[/sub] 83 GaF[sub]3[/sub] 950, GaN 800, Ga[sub]2[/sub]O 500 GeO 710, GeS 430 InCl[sub]3[/sub] 300 IF[sub]7[/sub] 5 Li[sub]2[/sub]O 1000 Hg[sub]2[/sub]Br[sub]2[/sub] 345, Hg[sub]2[/sub]Cl[sub]2[/sub] 383, HgS 580 NiCl[sub]2[/sub] 987 N[sub]2[/sub]O[sub]5[/sub] 32 P 417, PCl[sub]5[/sub] 164, PH[sub]4[/sub]Br 30, P[sub]2[/sub]O[sub]5[/sub] 300 SeCl[sub]4[/sub] 196, SeF[sub]6[/sub] -47, SeO[sub]2[/sub] 317 SiC 2200, SiF[sub]4[/sub] -95, Si[sub]3[/sub]N[sub]4[/sub] ?, SiS[sub]2[/sub] 1090 Na[sub]2[/sub]O 1275 SF[sub]6[/sub] -63 TeF[sub]6[/sub] -39, TeO[sub]2[/sub] 450 TiCl[sub]3[/sub] 430 UF[sub]6[/sub] 56 VCl[sub]2[/sub] 1000 ZnS 1185 ZrCl[sub]4[/sub] 331 ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/11 "2003-08-23T06:12:13Z")
Well, cold gin is the only thing that keeps us together… ---
**Author:** ![yawndave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/43a26b/32.png) [@yawndave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yawndave)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/12 "2003-08-23T17:18:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by GMRyujin \* > \*\*Well, cold gin is the only thing that keeps us together… \*\* Oh, KISS off, won’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2003, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cold-gin-what-is-this-phenomenon/197054/13 "2003-08-31T01:00:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rick \* > \*\*WTF? 😕 > > Iron to pick an element has a boiling point **above** room temp (at least it did the last time I looked) and it for sure exists as a liquid. \*\* Even though I’ve already been proven wrong, I did mean to say “below.”