How Does Chilling Differ From Freezing?

Uses

• Frozen and chilled chemicals have different uses. Freezing is a more effective preservation method than chilling, since the growth of bacteria is slowed or stopped and more bacteria are killed. That which is frozen is colder to the touch than chilled things. People may find frozen things uncomfortably cold while finding chilled things tolerable, which may be important when using cold as a source of pain relief. Ice skaters cannot skate on chilled water and need water that is frozen, though parts of the ice temporarily turn into water as the blade cuts across it. Chemicals are not used as liquids when they are frozen. For example, water cannot be drunk, but must instead by chewed or thawed. Ice cubes are often put into a liquid to chill it, since the heat energy in the warmer water transfers into the ice cubes, cooling the water and melting the ice cube.

Storage

• Frozen things are usually more easily stored than chilled things, since chemicals in their solid form take up less space than chemicals in their liquid form. However, water contracts as it gets colder, but then expands after the temperature drops below 4 degrees Celsius, according to the University of Northern Iowa. This makes water less dense when frozen than when chilled. This causes the ice to float on top of the water, which is why ice cubes float in drinks and frozen lakes have chilled water below.

Heat Energy

• When something is frozen, the molecules contain so much energy they can no longer resist the attractive forces that pull them together. They become fused together. Particles in frozen water do not move around. However, particles in chilled water move around, though not as much as in warmer water.

Cooling

• Chilled chemicals can flow through tubes and other passageways, unlike frozen chemicals. This is useful under circumstances where the liquid must travel through an area and remove heat. In chilled water systems, water transports heat energy from within a building or device to an outside location, where the excess heat can be disposed of. Chilled water is often used in coolant systems when machinery has a tendency to overheat, which can cause it to sustain damage.