Talk:Ice spike

Water fountain images
Are the water fountian images (external link) really an ice spice? Is this a case of flowing water iceing up instead of a water spike formed the normal way?

Actually, I am quite sure that it is not the same. I edited it to indicate that and was coming here to explain when I saw the above comment. While I'm no expert, I've seen many ice spikes formed in freezer ice trays, and from my understanding of the mechanism it is very different. I think you are right - the image shows a column of water that froze from the top down, rather than from the bottom up, as in an ice spike. Of course, this is all just how I interpret the photo, but seems much more logical to me and fits the form - a column with parallel sides and a mushroom cap-like top instead of the converging sides leading to a point seen on true spikes. I left the link in for two reasons: I am NOT claiming expert knowledge, and it seems to fit this non-technical coverage. Please edit away... --Fitzhugh 00:44, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Natural ice spikes
Maybe it would be a neat idea to take pictures of natural ice spikes? --HappyCamper 03:19, 18 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Natural ice spikes may be impossible to find, because purified water is required. Impure water has particles that serve as nucleation sites for ice crystals, resulting in freezing of the water before a spike can form. The only time I've seen a naturally occurring ice spike, it was actually a stalagmite formed by water dripping on a frozen surface, gradually building up to form a vertical column. =Axlq 04:19, 3 June 2008 (UTC)


 * There are a few exceptions to this. See the section "Spikes in the great outdoors" on the following page: [] Particularly [] --69.86.59.19 (talk) 05:54, 2 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Very cool resource. I'm particularly amazed at the "ice vase" in one of the pictures. =Axlq 15:25, 2 September 2009 (UTC)

Distilled Water Only?
I never saw ice spikes until I moved to Nagoya, Japan. They appear with great regularity in our ice cube tray, even though we always fill it with tap water. Some get to be two inches long, or possibly longer. Paul Davidson (talk) 12:25, 4 June 2008 (UTC)


 * I agree. I live in NY and fill my ice trays with tap water (sometimes filtered, but not distilled).  I get these ice spikes quite frequently, up to 4 in one tray sometimes.  It's not as rare as the article suggests.  KannD86 (talk) 22:21, 9 January 2011 (UTC)


 * The reason why the water has to be pure isn't stated: "spikes are less likely to form in ice cubes made from non-distilled water as impurities in the water inhibit spike formation" - that isn't an explanation, it's the same thing stated twice. Look, I can reverse it: "impurities in the water inhibit spike formation as spikes are less likely to form in ice cubes made from non-distilled water", so you can see it says nothing. 81.131.36.166 (talk) 20:08, 2 June 2013 (UTC)

Natural Ice Spikes
I recently discovered some natural ice spikes in small depressions in granite in a barrens area in Ontario Canada. Seeing these prompted me to research ice formations which led me here. They were all on an angle very close to the photo on this site. There was nothing in the vicinity which could have caused dripping.

216.59.254.103 (talk) 23:53, 27 January 2010 (UTC)Greg McCracken Fergus Ontario, CA

Crystal growth
Why is there no link to the article crystal growth? Also no mention of nucleation. Specifying distilled water is a red herring, it appears that the water needs only to be very low in nucleation particles. Why no mention of kinetic of crystal growth? The question is not why crystals grow much more rapidly in one direction, but why growth is unusually slow in the other directions. Crystal growth science is the subject of numerous books, such as Crystal Growth Technology. No mention of any of them!Petergans (talk) 09:24, 26 January 2013 (UTC)
 * I found a very poor article on an under-researched phenomenon in a subject I know little about. I then improved it by doing a bit of research, tried to interpret and add any information I could find and then put it up for DYK to get others interested. I'm well aware that any other form of purified water, such as deionised, would suffice but unfortunately that's not what what the sources say. As for not linking to the other two articles I wasn't aware they existed. If I had put the article up for WP:GAR and you were reviewing it, then your criticism would be welcome. However, I notice that you haven't contributed anything and you haven't even bothered to add the links you mentioned. Are you aware that wikipedia is the encyclopedia that anyone can edit? If you know so much about the subject why don't you get off your arse and add something instead of complaining about what you think others should have done. If you feel the article can be further improved then be my guest, improve it! Your help would be more than welcome. Richerman ''   (talk) 10:34, 26 January 2013 (UTC)

article introduction
the intro to this page seems very informally written, with little definitive info and insufficient citations. I don't have the knowledge to improve it myself but I hope someone else can at least add a little more info TheThighren (talk) 11:41, 29 November 2023 (UTC)