It's been a relatively cool summer thus far this year, thank the gods. There have been a handful of bursts of heat but so far nothing too prolonged in NSW at least. (The southern states are a different matter.)

Today, however, it nudged the mid to high 20's and is expected to hit 30 tomorrow. (About 86 for Americans.)

I thought that it was therefore time to cool things down with a little ice experiment I've been thinking about for a while now. I half-froze some ice cubes, then poked open the top while the centre was still liquid and shoved some colouring into the liquid part, then put it back in to finish freezing. I then shone the brightest torch (flashlight for Americans) that I had through it with the intention of capturing how the light bounced off the inner fracture lines and colouring.

This may, in fact, have been a better experiment for a cold winter night since I was against the clock from the start. As you can doubtless tell, the once-sharp vertices have already melted off providing a soft outline. Also I need a light that's a little more laser-like in its focus.

Last Year