Groundbreaking Discovery: Room-Temperature Ice Unveiled in X-Ray Laser Experiment!

A fascinating new type of ice, called ice XXI, has been discovered. Researchers created it using the world’s largest X-ray laser. This ice forms at room temperature but requires extreme pressure to exist.

Typically, the solid ice we know is referred to as ice I. However, under various conditions, water can take on over 20 different forms. For example, ice XVIII could be found on distant planets like Neptune. Each type of ice has unique properties, influenced by temperature and pressure.

Ice XXI stands out with its unusual tetragonal crystal structure, comprising 152 water molecules in its repeating unit. This makes it quite different from any other known ice types.

You won’t be making ice XXI in your freezer, though. The scientists used cutting-edge equipment at the European XFEL facility in Germany, applying pressures of up to 2 gigapascals—about 20,000 times the pressure we feel at sea level. Using rapid compression and decompression, they captured a million images per second to study how the structure changed.

Interestingly, ice XXI may be a stepping stone toward a more complex phase called ice VI. Geun Woo Lee, a physicist involved in the research, explains that their findings reveal multiple pathways for how water can crystallize under extreme conditions. This research hints that even more mysterious forms of ice could exist on icy moons and distant planets.

The implications of discovering ice XXI go beyond just curiosity. It opens doors to exploring the conditions on other celestial bodies. With this ongoing research, we gain insights not just into the water on Earth, but also into the vast universe around us.

This study was published in Nature Materials, highlighting the importance of continuing research in this fascinating field. You can explore more about the phases of ice in detail here.

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