Kinetics and morphology of nonequilibrium growth of ice in supercooled water

The kinetics of free growth of ice in a distilled-water film supercooled to -30 degreesC was studied by the video recording technique in the polarized light. In the supercooling range 12 < DeltaT < 16 K, a first-order kinetic morphological transition was observed between the structure formed by need lelike crystals of ice and the quasiadiabatic "structure" of single grains having the shape of planar platelets with the thickness proportional to the thickness of the water film and relative supercooling. It was found that t his transition is accompanied by jumplike changes in the main crystallizati on parameters such as the growth rate of grains, their size and number, the ir kinetic behavior, and the fractal dimension of the structure. (C) 2001 M AIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".