The works of the Honourable Robert Boyle, Esq., epitomiz'd by Richard Boulton ... ; illustrated with copper plates.

Paralipomena to the II and XX Titles, of the frost getting into hard and solid Bodies.

* 1.1In England it hath been observ'd, That Wood whose Diameter, was a Foot through hath been froze; and in Poland the Frost hath been so powerful, that it hath rendred the Timber so hard, that Hatchets would not cut it; and the Wood with which the Houses were cover'd would give Cracks as loud as Pistols. And I am told by one, that his Bow being froze, if he did not take a great deal of Care in thawing it, it would break. Marle and Chalk will be shat∣tered with the Frost, the Texture of those Bo∣dies

being by that means opened and rendered more fit to nourish Plants and Grass. And I am told by an Experienced Mason, that even free stone, of which Houses are built, will crack and flaw in frosty Weather. And it is observ∣ed in England, That stones dugg up in the be∣ginning of Summer and seasoned in the Air are not near so subject to flaw as those that are dug up and worked, whilst the Frost continues. And it is further observed, That both Earthen as well as Glass-Vessels are considerably im∣paired by the Effects of Frost upon them. To which instances I shall add the Testimony of Maistre Bernard Palissy who says, That tho' the stones of the Mountain Ardenne are harder than Marble; yet for fear of Frost they are drawn out of the Quarries in the Winter: And he further adds, That in the Winter the Rocks sometimes crack and fall down without being cut. And it hath been observed, That Iron-In∣struments brought out of the Cold into a warm Room have been covered over with a white Hoar; and it is not only confirmed by foreign Artists but several here, That Cold hath so great an Effect on Steel as to make several Piec∣es of Metal more brittle than in the Summer; so that they are then forced to work them ano∣ther way and to give them a different tem∣per.

* 1.2It being a Tradition, and also taught by A∣ristotle, That Hot Water is sooner froze than Cold; to determine the matter, I made the following Experiments.

Cold Water being exposed to freeze in one Porringer, boiled Water cooled in another, and Hot Water in a Third, at 8 a Clock; the Cold Water began to freeze at ¼ after ten; the Boild Water cooled, at ¾ past ten; and the Hot Water at ¼ an hour past Eleven. And the like success happened, when the Experiment was tryed a second time in Metalline Vessels: And the Experiment being again tryed with grea∣ter exactness, the Cold Water and the rest being exposed to freeze at ¼ after 6, the first beganto freeze ¼ after 7; the Water heated and cooled again ¾ after 7, and the Hot Water was not froze ½ an hour after Eight.

The like Experiment being tryed with Wa∣ter contained in Glass-Cylinders of an equal Bore sealed at one end, we found that there was very little difference in the time of their Congelation, when immersed in a Mixture of Snow Salt and Water; but once, when the end of one of the Cylinders was drawn smaller than Ordinary, the smallness of the Pipe occa∣sioned the Hot Water to begin to freeze soon∣er than the Cold Water.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Of the Ef∣fects of Frost on so∣lid Bodies.
• * 1.2

  Hot Water does not freeze soon∣er than Cold.