
Maine's giant spinning ice disc looks like it's reforming - pseudolus
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jan/19/maines-giant-spinning-ice-disc-looks-like-its-reforming
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yardshop
I walk home most work nights and cross the Presumpscot River on my way. It
adds about 20 minutes to go up to that end of town and see it. I did that a
couple times last year, and will be doing so this coming Tuesday (since Monday
is MLK day). Thankfully the weather will be mostly below freezing until then,
although it will go up to 37 today.

I think its the combination of the single digit nights which allow ice to form
on the river, and warmer days which let the thin edges break free so it can
turn. Then it's the action of grinding against the shoreline ice that creates
the round shape, like a block of wood on a lathe under the worker's tools. We
got another six inches of snow last night which will help to beef up the solid
portion.

It's fascinating that it happened a second time. If I didn't have so much
shoveling to do today I would almost be inclined to walk over there and take a
look!

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rpvnwnkl
Off topic, but I like to hear about the experiences of tech people living in
Maine. If you’d like to chat, send a message to my username at gmail.

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SomeCollegeBro
There's surprisingly many of us! The Portland metro area has some decent
opportunities for tech work. Not anything on par with Boston, but it's there.

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flyingfences
Job opportunities not on par with Boston, but rents fast approaching... I
would've loved to stay in ME/NH after graduation, but it just wasn't
realistic.

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jpalomaki
You can also do these yourself. Just some sticks, rope and chainsaw needed.
Throw in an outboard motor and you get a nice carousel.

[https://www.sitra.fi/en/news/giant-ice-carousel-spinning-
fro...](https://www.sitra.fi/en/news/giant-ice-carousel-spinning-frozen-lake-
finnish-people-fun/)

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cjbest
Good, it was getting awfully corrupt

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dpflan
An interesting phenomenon. Are we interested in it because it seems to be a
rare and observable event that seems “magical”? Or is there a deeper search
for meaning here?

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_bxg1
The near-perfection of the circular shape is what really makes it stand out.
It's strange to see such regularity in natural phenomenons.

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danwills
Agreed (though circle is pretty common, but,) has anyone ever seen any trace
of a mandelbrot-shaped feature anywhere in nature? (I mean the whole set, not
just seahorses/etc) I'm on the hunt!

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aasasd
If you aren't looking for Mandelbrot specifically, Romanesco broccoli is the
most fractal-y plant I know.

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kevlar1818
I work nearby and went to check it out some random weekday. There was at least
one news crew camped out there. What a time to be alive.

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possiblelion
There are others; such as this one in Estonia.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vana-vigala_spinning_ice_disk.webm

That one is huge compared to the Maine disc as well.

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k_sze
I wonder if, in the absence of gravity (and thus no issue of buoyancy), a
spherical ice ball would form in a stream of slow moving cold water...

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lmilcin
In absence of gravity there would be no atmosphere, no pressure, no liquid
water and especially no flowing liquid water.

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wongarsu
You could imagine a glass donut filled with water, as well as a small rotor to
move the water in a circle.

You obviously have to balance the water pressure and temperature to reach slow
ice formation, and maybe you need a more interesting container shape than a
donut to get interesting results.

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lmilcin
Well, in space water starts to boil away immediately so you would need a gas
tight container which don't typically happen in nature in sizes that would
allow internal currents to develop.

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wongarsu
Earth is a (reasonably) gas tight container filled with flowing liquid (lava
propelled by convection currents). Europa (the moon) is a reasonably gas-tight
container filled with water under an ice sheet.

Of course Earth also has appreciable gravity. The real problem isn't that
nature produces no gas tight liquid-filled containers, it's that gravity is
the primary mechanism by which things are naturally created in space. Asking
for a situation without gravity virtually requires artificial construction.

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starpilot
this is cursed

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peter_d_sherman
"All right stop,

Collaborate and listen,

 _Ice_ is back with a brand new invention..."

<g>

