Why is it better to put ince rather than an equal mass of cold water into a drink you want to chill?
It is better to use ice rather than an equal mass of cold water to chill a drink because ice has a higher latent heat of fusion compared to water at the same temperature. The latent heat of fusion refers to the amount of heat energy required to change a substance from a solid to a liquid state, or vice versa, without changing its temperature.
When ice is added to a drink, it absorbs heat from the surrounding environment to melt into water. During this phase change, the ice does not change in temperature until it has completely melted. This means that the heat energy from the drink is primarily utilized to convert the ice into water, rather than solely raising the temperature of the liquid. This leads to a more efficient cooling process.
On the other hand, if you were to add an equal mass of cold water to the drink, the temperature of the liquid would only decrease slightly as the colder water mixes with the warmer drink. The overall cooling effect would be limited, especially if the cold water is only slightly colder than the drink itself.
Therefore, using ice instead of cold water ensures a faster and more effective cooling of the drink due to the high latent heat of fusion of ice.