Word: vapor
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Waves to the Center. Dr. Copson explained that it is all done by freeze-drying. When a material that contains water is frozen and placed in a vacuum chamber, the ice crystals in it sublime, i.e., turn directly into water vapor without melting to water. Pharmaceutical manufacturers use freeze-drying to preserve sensitive drugs, but the process is difficult, and it had never been successfully adapted to low-cost materials like foods. Another difficulty is that a considerable amount of heat (heat of sublimation) is required to evaporate the ice crystals. This heat must reach the center of the material...
...gets around this problem by putting frozen foods in a vacuum chamber and shooting through them a powerful blast of ultrahigh-frequency radio energy. The waves agitate the molecules in the interior of the food and generate just enough heat to make the ice crystals turn directly into water vapor. If the job is handled properly, the food loses up to nine-tenths of its weight and turns into a brittle sort of substance while staying far below the freezing point. Chemical changes, which would damage flavor, cannot take place. Even unstable vitamins are preserved...
...staging department, the present Ring is freighted with virtually the same visual improbabilities that burdened it in the past. Ponderous gods and goddesses lumbered clumsily toward one another across the gigantic stage. Papier-mâché dragons belched steam, dwarfs disappeared in clouds of vapor, magic fires raced across the sky at the wave of a wand. For reasons of economy, the Met made no effort to replace the worn sets originally designed and constructed for the Ring nearly a decade ago. A complete restaging, estimates Manager Bing, would cost a prohibitive $300,000. Though he refuses...
...magically in rain-washed brilliance. Overhead, winter's deep blue sky throbbed to the scream of jets and the snarl of conventional piston engines. But to the San Fernando Valley's children, raised around Southern California's cluster of major aircraft plants, the heavy traffic in vapor trails and engine noises was unmagically routine...
Webster said that snow is crystals of water vapor condensed when the temperature of the air is below 0* C. (32* F.). An aloof and totally unfeeling answer. This is ever Webster's failing when you most need his help...