Quote:
Originally Posted by chrispedersen
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redeyes
Water doesn't go below freezing (and ice floats, so the coldest "water" goes on top).
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Besides as a matter of physics in an ice/water mixture, both the water and the ice are at a temperature of 32 degrees. |
...and 32 degrees is not _below_ freezing point. By definition, water cannot have a temperature below its freezing point (although if you try extremely hard you can get it below zero centigrade/32 F. Brine freezes at noticeably below zero anyway).
It's worth noting that air is a rather good insulator, by the way. Cold water strips heat away from you much quicker than cold air, and hot water damages you faster than air at the same temperature. Since abyssal vents present both extremes of temperature to the life forms that inhabit them (and they're probably the best place to be at that depth if you're a large organism and like eating), a degree of both FR and CR seems pretty reasonable.