When a substance undergoes a phase transition (changes from one state of matter to another) it usually either takes up or releases energy.More specifically, when something melts, it takes up--you could say uses--energy.
Case in point: the phenomenon of baby melting. Infants as young as 6 months old have the ability to use up energy in a concentrated burst and melt out of a baby-handler's arms. Kai is an expert phase changer, and recently permitted us to catch him in action. Exhibit A: Kai as a solid state baby.
Exhibit B: Approximately 8 minutes later, after being told he could, under no circumstances, crawl out the front door, down the porch steps and onto the sidewalk while we were in the kitchen cooking breakfast, we observe phase change from solid to liquid state.
While the phase change is easily observed, the exact mechanism by which the child becomes physically impossible to hold is a mystery. This phase change is typically accompanied by a dramatic increase in weight, itself the topic of several ongoing experiments.
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