The Mystery of Hair Ice: How Water Cohesion Creates Strange Shapes

SciShow Kids

In this episode of SciShow Kids, Jessi and Squeaks explore a strange winter phenomenon called "Hair Ice"—ice that looks exactly like fluffy white hair growing on dead wood. After discovering a sample on a nature walk, they investigate why the ice forms in such a unique shape and why it melted so quickly when brought indoors. The video uses this mystery to introduce fundamental physics and chemistry concepts in an accessible way.