[Rockhounds] Question? Frozen pipes and Frozen Polarity

[Mr EMan]

Twas quoted:
  On the other hand, if water did not expand when solid, I would not have had to call the plumber yesterday for my frozen pipes..

I was taught that the expansion of water/ice at 4degrees was owing to a locking of the tri-polar magnetic poles of the water molecule at a termperature where the alignment of molecules was governed by magnitism under reduced thermal vibration.

In the what it is worth column, frozen water is but one components in the conditions which cause broken pipes. While ice stops expansion in the vic of 4degrees F, metals and plastics continue to contract with the drop in temperature. This is why you can have pipe restricting, fully frozen, ice and not have broken pipes. 

When the temperature reaches the limit of elasticity the pipe will rupture.  I believe the temperature is around 25 degrees F(??) that the elasticity of copper can no longer contain the diameter of ice within the tube. IIRC 1/2" does not rutpture as fast as 3/4" because the 1/2 wall has more thickness/diameter ratio ergo there is a greater amount of copper to strech over a a given diameter of ice.

Eman