Scientists have compressed water between two diamonds to create an entirely new form of ice that is solid at room temperature.
The ice, called Ice XXI, forms when water is subjected to extreme pressure to become metastable, a perilous state that becomes physically unstable by the slightest disturbance.
The discovery could have implications for space exploration, opening up new ways in which ice could form on alien worlds, according to the study published October 10 in the journal. Nature materials.
“Our findings suggest that there may be a greater number of quasi-stable, high-temperature ice phases and their associated transition pathways, which may provide new insights into the formation of icy moons,” said study co-author. Rachel’s husbandA postdoctoral researcher at the German Electron Synchrotron Research Center in Germany, said in A statement.
Ice XXI, number 21 in Roman numerals, is the 21st known ice phase – others include Four-sided ice crystals xix And a hot star Super ice. Water can exist in a large number of solid phase forms thanks to its molecular structure, where the two-fold hydrogen atoms freeze into various crystalline and amorphous structures.
Scientists have discovered many transition pathways between water and ice by stressing water at low temperatures, when molecules are slower, but they expect less variation for ice at higher temperatures, when molecules have more kinetic energy.
In the new study, the researchers discovered ice transport pathways at room temperature, which is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius). Use Team A Diamond anvil cellIt is a device that takes advantage of the extreme hardness of diamond to subject the material to enormous pressure. In this case, the water was subjected to pressures about 20,000 times normal air pressure on Earth, forcing the H2O molecules together until they became so compressed that they formed a solid structure. The XFEL scanned the sample every millionth of a second (1 microsecond), tracking how its structure changed.
“With European Jeon Woo LeeThe researcher at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) said in the statement.