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Supercooled Water: Instant Freeze

Interactive 2D simulation of supercooled water — chill pure water below 0°C without freezing, then tap the container to trigger a real nucleation-and-growth front, with latent heat tracked as it warms the water back toward 0°C.

Chemistry & Materials2DEasy60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted⇄ 3D version

This simulation renders a side-view cross-section of a flask of pure water being chilled below 0 °C without freezing — the real, metastable "supercooled" state. Watch the temperature slide past the freezing point while the water stays liquid, then click or tap inside the flask to supply the missing nucleation event: a real crystal front spreads outward from that point, releasing latent heat that visibly warms the remaining water back toward 0 °C as it grows, and slowing down as it does. Raise the impurity/nucleation-site density and the flask may freeze on its own before you ever tap it — exactly why lab-pure water resists freezing far longer than tap water. Drag to pan and scroll or pinch to zoom in on the growing ice front.

⚙ Under the hood

Chill pure water below 0°C in a 2D flask cross-section without it freezing, then tap to trigger a real nucleation-and-growth front as latent heat warms it back toward 0°C.

supercoolingnucleationphase-transitionthermodynamicsnew-year

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install