Freezing Potentials in Aqueous Solutions

Early observations of thunderstorm electrification in the atmosphere were attributed to the large electrical potentials developing between the frozen and unfrozen regions of water and aqueous solutions subjected to freezing temperatures. Contact potentials between solids and liquids are usually of the order of 1 V and hence, some further fact must be operated to achieve 100 V. The theory suggested is that, whereas in the usual case the charges producing the potentials are adjacent to the boundary, in the case of freezing ice the charges extend to a small distance from this boundary. To bring out the uncertainties in the measurements by various authors, Dennis Kelsh and Susan Taylor investigated the freezing potential phenomenon in a short study conducted in CRREL in 1988. They were quite critical about the techniques of measurements and uncertainties and the difficulty in using EFP as a measurement technique for studying corrosion and water migration in freezing moist soils.