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Originally posted by skeeteractually, it IS relevant. since the volume of water is less than that of ice, then in some cases we would expect an object containing water to shrink when the ice melts. that turkeys do not appreciably shrink while thawing is due to their cellular and skeletal structure, i expect.
Not the arguement. The issue is will the turkey increase in size as it thaws? and of course it will not. As the ice melts the water will drain from the bird and the its size will remain constant.
skeeter
it is possible the turkey will be lighter after thawing than before freezing. freezing causes cells to burst open, because they contain mainly water and this freezes, stretching the cell membrane beyond capacity. so a lot of the liquid contents of the cells should run off when thawed, leaving the bird lighter.