**Ask a monkey a physics question thread**

[surviva316]

Also, I would very much enjoy a thread devoted entirely to coffee/espresso/tea.

[MadMojoMonkey]

Ice cubes:

This is really a simple one. The amount of energy it takes to melt ice into water is constant. Well, it's constant by mass (at a given temp. and pressure), expressed in J/kg. The geometry of the ice "cubes" could allow for faster melting of the single "cube" over the 5 "cubes". However, the quantity of ice turned to water requires a given amount of energy. The watered-downedness is directly linked to the temperature change.

Thermodynamic work is being done. Assuming the beverages were the same liquid, perfectly insulated from any other temperature-altering effects, started at the same temperature, and were under identical pressure conditions...
Assuming that... then the one with more volume of ice turned into water will be the cooler drink.


Which one is more watered down?
Short answer: The colder one.


It is also interesting to note that the ice can't cool a drink below 0 C. When the drink cools to that temp, the rate of melting slows to maintain that temp against losses to the environment. In the hypothetical situation where the drink is perfectly insulated, the ice would stop melting entirely.