engineering question #1863

Mark Brooks, a 16 year old male from London asks on January 23, 2004,

Q:

Why do ice cubes melt quicker on stainless steel than a china plate and fire clay?

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the answer

Barry Shell answered on January 23, 2004, A:

This has to do with the heat transfer properties of the two materials. Stainless steel is a much better conductor of heat than ceramics like china and fired clay. Hence the heat to melt the ice cube is conducted to the ice faster by the metal than the ceramic.

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