When New York Freezes – An Exploration into the Ice Formation in the Movie ‘The Day After Tomorrow’

Authors

  • Hannah Mahoney McMaster University
  • Elizabeth O'Meara McMaster University

Keywords:

Film, Physics, Polar vortex, Thermodynamics, The Day After Tomorrow

Abstract

This paper discusses whether the ‘big freeze’ caused by an extreme polar vortex in the movie ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ would be possible. It was assumed that the water covering New York had similar behavioural characteristics to that of a shallow lake and that the width of ice formed was large enough to support a medium truck. Using re-arranged thermodynamic equations, it was concluded that temperatures dropping to -150˚F would not be enough to freeze the ice since it would take 45.66 hours. Since the ice froze overnight as the characters slept, this aspect of the movie is not plausible.

References

Emmerich, R., & Nachmanoff, J. (2004) The Day After Tomorrow. [Film] Directed by Roland Emmerich. Twentieth Century Fox. First released 17th May 2004.

Ashton, G.D. (1989) Thin Ice Growth. Water Resources Research, 25(3), pp.564-566. Available at: http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/572109/18056158/1336339358653/thin+ice+growth.pdf?token=Kdh9ASdoWJlBYw3jrwFHuU7t7rA%3D [Accessed 3rd March 2019]

Ashton, G.D. (2007) Ice in lakes and rivers. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/science/lake-ice [Accessed 3rd March 2019].

Department of Natural Resources. (2019). General Ice Thickness Guidelines. [online] Available at: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/thickness.html [Accessed 2nd March 2019].

Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance. (2019) Ice Thickness Safety Chart. [online] Available at: https://www.ameriprise.com/auto-home-insurance/aah/learning-center/auto/safe-driving/ice-thickness-safety-chart/ [Accessed 2nd March 2019].

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Published

04.04.2019

How to Cite

Mahoney, H., & O’Meara, E. (2019). When New York Freezes – An Exploration into the Ice Formation in the Movie ‘The Day After Tomorrow’. Journal of Interdisciplinary Science Topics, 8. Retrieved from https://journals.le.ac.uk/index.php/jist/article/view/3069

Issue

Vol. 8 (2019)

Section

Articles

License

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.  All content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC-BY 4.0).