In materials science, quenching is the rapid cooling of a workpiece in water, oil or air to obtain certain material properties. A type of heat treating, quenching prevents undesired low-temperature processes, such as phase transformations, from occurring. It does this by reducing the window of time during which these undesired reactions are both thermodynamically favorable, and kinetically accessible; for instance, quenching can reduce the crystal grain size of both metallic and plastic material
The length of the day in Walla Walla varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 8 hours, 38 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 15 hours, 46 minutes of daylight.
During the winter solstice â which falls on December 21 or 22 in the Northern Hemisphere and June 20 or 21 in the Southern Hemisphere â the path that the sun travels in the sky reaches its lowest point. It is the shortest day of the year, and has been noted and celebrated by a wide variety of cultures around the world.