The physics of chilling a drink
A drink cools according to Newton’s law of cooling: the rate of temperature change is proportional to the difference between the drink’s temperature and its surroundings. That’s why a drink cools quickly at first and then more slowly as it approaches the temperature of the fridge, freezer, or ice bath around it.
This calculator uses that exponential cooling model, calibrated against commonly cited reference chill times for a standard 12 fl oz can (for example, roughly 45 minutes in a 0°F freezer or about 30 minutes in an ice water bath to go from room temperature to well-chilled). It then adjusts the estimate for your chosen starting and target temperatures, and scales the time for larger containers using the physical relationship between a container’s volume and its surface area, since heat escapes through the surface.
- Stirring or adding salt to an ice bath speeds heat transfer significantly, which is why those options chill faster in the calculator.
- Larger containers (like a 750 ml bottle or a growler) take longer because they have less surface area relative to their volume.
This is a physics-based estimate for general kitchen and party-planning use — actual times vary with initial container temperature, how much ice surrounds it, and airflow.