Questions
Deeper questions
The following questions require some thought and reaching the answer may require you to think beyond the contents of this TLP.
-
Crystallization is usually fatal to cells because:
-
Ice formation in cells can be limited by:
-
Crystallization of minerals in the cells can be limited by:
-
In some alpine plants, extracellular ice formation occurs at around –2°C. What is the critical radius for ice nucleation at this temperature?
In these plants, the extracellular ice forms on ice nucleating agents. If an ice nucleating agent is a circular disc and is a perfect template for ice, what size must it be for nucleation to occur at –2°C?
(For the ice-water interface, the interfacial energy γ = 0.028 J m-2; the latent heat of freezing of ice is ΔHv = -3.34 x 108 J m-3.)