If I put a long nail through ice, will it be covered with ice? How is the temperature distributed?

Assume -40C temperature of the air and a deep lake that is not entirely frozen. Nail is long: good part of it is below ice and good part is above ice. The water is obviously at around 0C. The nail is made of metal and has very good heat conductivity. Assume that the air and the water are both perfectly still. Assume that:


(A) Nail does not have any outside insulation.


(B) Nail does have some outside heat insulation. (Say it has a layer of special plastic (one that almost does not conduct heat) around it (only present to prevent heat exchange between nail and ice. The goal is to keep the nail only in contact with water and air.)





Q1. Will the underwater part of the nail be covered with ice? after some time? Why or why not?


Q2. How will the temperature be distributed along the length of the nail?


Q3. Does the geometry of the nail affect this distribution? How? (Formulas and illustrative examples are welcome).


Q4. What changes if the water is not still but moving?


ThanksIf I put a long nail through ice, will it be covered with ice? How is the temperature distributed?
You are describing a thermal bridge between the atmosphere at -40c and the water near 0c.





At the water/ice interface, the temperature of the water and ice are almost identical. With the nail acting as a conduit to remove additional heat, I would assume that the water would begin to freeze along the nail, starting at the ice. Whether it could reach to the bottom of the nail would depend on lots of factors.





I would think that adding the insulation on the nail where it contacts the ice would enhance the effect.

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