1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:11,200 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Bogobam. Here. Should Hell ever freeze over, 3 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:15,960 Speaker 1: it'll probably happen right after Niagara Falls does. The Roaring 4 00:00:16,079 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: Landmarks sits on the border of Upstate New York and Ontario, Canada. 5 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:23,480 Speaker 1: It consists of three separate waterfalls, with the tallest being 6 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:27,320 Speaker 1: a hundred and sixty seven feet that's fifty one high. 7 00:00:27,640 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: These cascading waters have attracted the odd There devil over 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: the years. We've all heard the stories about thrill seekers 9 00:00:33,760 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: and barrels, but most visitors simply come to admire the 10 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 1: falls natural beauty. In the wintertime, the falls get extra 11 00:00:41,320 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: gorgeous because I see formations often appear on or around them. Yet, 12 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: despite claims to the contrary, Niagara Falls doesn't ever fully freeze. 13 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:56,120 Speaker 1: And it turns out that freezing Niagara Falls solid would 14 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: be quite a feat. During the winter, a whopping twenty 15 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: two million gallons or five million liters of water tumble 16 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: over the falls per minute, and scientists say it would 17 00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: be extremely difficult to freeze that much fast flowing water. 18 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,720 Speaker 1: Even in sub zero temperatures, the falls can appear frozen 19 00:01:15,920 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: when the thick mist that they produced freezes as it 20 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: accumulates on the trees, boulders, and railings that surround the falls. Also, 21 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 1: there are days when a thin layer of frozen spray 22 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: and miss hardens over the falls themselves, right beneath this 23 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:34,759 Speaker 1: icy blanket, though you'll still find plenty of liquid water 24 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: flowing on its usual downward path. A bottom line, Niagara 25 00:01:39,720 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 1: Falls isn't going to freeze all the way through anytime soon. 26 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,840 Speaker 1: But that's just one landmark. Let's talk about some other waterfalls. 27 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: On a cold morning in January, physics professor Michael J. 28 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 1: Ruise and independent researcher Charles Cranford filmed a sixty five 29 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: foot that's twenty waterfall in North Carolina that had mostly 30 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,440 Speaker 1: frozen Trickling over. Some of the ice was a stream 31 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:10,799 Speaker 1: of super cooled water. Super Cooled water is water that's 32 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: managed to remain liquid below its normal freezing temperature, that 33 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: being thirty two degrees fahrenheit or zero degrees celsius. It 34 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 1: was significantly colder outside when Louise and Cranford recorded their video. 35 00:02:23,680 --> 00:02:26,840 Speaker 1: The local temperature was just five degrees fahrenheit or negative 36 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: fifteen celsius. Under those conditions, even the super cooled water 37 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: couldn't stay liquefied for long. The duo captured the Carolina 38 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 1: waterfall freezing into ice in real time, and not just 39 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: any ice. The water was hardening into a clumping collection 40 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: of tiny needle shaped crystals. Meteorologists call that frazzle ice, 41 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,639 Speaker 1: often associated with turbulent and super cooled water. Frazzle ice 42 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: can also develop when mist droplets freeze. This ice is 43 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 1: a common site around and waterfalls, like the ones at 44 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: California's you Semity National Park during below freezing weather, When 45 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: frazzle ice clings to a rocky surface, it can become 46 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: a platform for even more ice to build upon. Waterfall 47 00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: icicles can also build up or down, found in many 48 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 1: regions of the globe, from France to Utah, they can 49 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: take many forms. You can find ice stalactites dangling off 50 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,239 Speaker 1: of cliffs or ice stalagmites ascending from the ground below, 51 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:32,640 Speaker 1: and if a lowering stalactite touches a rising stalagmite, you 52 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,360 Speaker 1: get a column like ice pillar. A note that these 53 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: icicles and columns can be dangerous as they can suddenly collapse. 54 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: But if you do see I see stalactites, stalacmites, or 55 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: pillars gathered around your favorite waterfall. It doesn't mean the 56 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: whole waterfall has frozen solid. That only happens when the 57 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: source of the waterfall freezes through. Whether that's a creek, 58 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: a stream, or a river, the larger and faster flowing 59 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:03,000 Speaker 1: a given source is, the smaller its chances of becoming frozen. 60 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:10,840 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Mark Mancini and produced by 61 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other 62 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,360 Speaker 1: fast flowing topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain 63 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,039 Speaker 1: Stuff is production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts 64 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:22,040 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 65 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.