Science News: A Weird Ice that May Form on Alien Planets has Finally Been Observed

 


A Weird Ice that may Form on Alien Planets has Finally Been Observed

High temperatures and extreme pressures create ice with properties of both crystalline ice and liquid water


By Nikk Ogasa

A strange type of ice thought to dwell deep in the oceans of alien planets has finally been proven to exist.


For the first time, researchers have directly observed a sort of hybrid phase of water called plastic ice, which forms at high temperatures and pressures and exhibits traits of both solid ice and liquid water. The observations, reported February 12 in Nature, may help researchers better understand the internal architecture and processes of other worlds in our solar system and beyond, some of which might be habitable.


Plastic ice is “something intermediate between a liquid and a crystal, you can imagine that it is softer when you squeeze it,” says physicist Livia Bove of CNRS in Paris. It’s called plastic ice because it is more easily molded or deformed than typical crystalline ice, exhibiting a property scientists call plasticity, she says. “Like something that can [squeeze] through a hole and come out, even if it’s still solid.”


Note:  The above comes directly from their website.  Click here to read more.

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