New Form of Ice with Similar Density to Liquid Water Discovered

Scientists discovered a new form of ice with a similar density to liquid water but was observed to have a jumble of molecules with unique properties.

The author of a paper published on Thursday in the journal Science, a chemistry professor at the University College of London in England, Christoph Salzmann, said that the study's results were completely unexpected and surprising.

New Form of Ice Discovered

Water itself is considered a simple molecule that scientists have intensively studied for centuries. It contains two hydrogen atoms jutting off at a 104.5-degree angle in a V-shape from a central oxygen atom.

The scientists' discovery reveals once again that water, a molecule without which life cannot exist, is still holding valuable scientific secrets waiting to be uncovered. The team's experiments were relatively simple. They used inexpensive equipment to discover the new form of ice that potentially exists somewhere else in the solar system or the universe.

Humans encounter three life forms of water: gas similar to steam, flowing liquid water, and hard, slippery ice. These types of ice consist of water molecules lined up in a hexagonal pattern that stack neatly on top of each other, as per the New York Times.

Because the hexagonal structure is not tightly packed, the density of ice is much less than liquid water and can be seen floating instead of sinking. By using permutations of temperature and pressure outside of what is typically seen on Earth, scientists can push water molecules into other crystal structures.

Now, experts know of 20 crystalline forms of water, the 20th of which was only discovered last year. The researchers also documented two types of ice that had jumbled molecules, which they call amorphous materials.

The two amorphous pieces of ice have different densities; one is denser than liquid water, while the other is less dense. They are called high-density amorphous ice and low-density amorphous ice, respectively.

Roughly Shaking Liquid Water

But the most recently discovered ice has a density similar to liquid water, which prompted scientists to call it medium-density amorphous ice (MDA). Until now, scientists accepted the perceived fact that no ice exists within the density gap between high-density amorphous ice and low-density amorphous ice, according to Gizmodo.

Salzmann said that the new study shows that the density of MDA was precisely within that density gap. He added that the discovery might have far-reaching consequences for humans' understanding of liquid water and its many anomalies.

In making the discovery, scientists shook ordinary water ice inside a jar with steel balls that were called to roughly -200 Celsius. This process is known as ball milling and is used to break up molecules using mechanical forces.

The team then shook the ice and steel balls roughly 20 times per second, their sole reason being a pure curiosity. Salzmann said that the experiment was done one Friday afternoon when scientists did their activity and saw what could happen. He added that naively, they thought that nothing would happen, but were surprised that something did, said the Smithsonian Magazine.

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