|
|
|
|
Cold Booze
Wed Dec 21, 2005
Listen in RealAudio 
Hi, I’m Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook. When people find out I work in the weather field, they always want to ask a question: is global warming real? Where do clouds come from? Why don’t you ever get those forecasts right? Well, today someone asked me about alcohol and thermometers, and alcohol, which reminded me of some mythology I had heard years ago. So I decided to check into it.
This gentleman asked me at what temperature would his whisky freeze if he stuck it in the snow? I wasn’t certain, but I know it had to be pretty cold, as mercury thermometers gum up pretty good at minus 40 (Celsius or Fahrenheit), and colder temperatures are measured by low-registering alcohol thermometers.
So, at what temperature does alcohol freeze? Pure ethanol will freeze at minus 114 Celsius (some sources say minus 117); that’s minus 173.2 Fahrenheit. Freezing for drinking liquors will be somewhat higher, depending on what other ingredients are in the booze.
The mythology in question concerns outdoor workers in very cold environments: Siberia, Antarctica, or Alaskan Pipeline workers. It is rumored that when they leave their hard hooch out in the snow, when temperatures get into the minus 20 to minus 40 range, that by then pouring it down their gullets they can experience freezing of the esophagus, and instant death. But does this really happen?
I was not able to find a documented death from esophageal freezing. But there certainly is the potential for significant damage. Serious frostbite of the mouth, esophagus, and windpipe are all possible. Additionally, one source also believes that the sudden shock of cold could affect the heart’s electrical conductivity, causing ventricular fibrillation, which has a highly fatal outcome. So, the conclusion is still… you’d better not.
The Weather Notebook is found online at www.weathernotebook.org. We are funded by Subaru of America.
|
|
