Scientists Recreate Ice X at 200 Gigapascals, Confirming Superionic Phase Predicted for Uranus and Neptune
Updated
Updated · Gizmodo · Sep 10
Scientists Recreate Ice X at 200 Gigapascals, Confirming Superionic Phase Predicted for Uranus and Neptune
3 articles · Updated · Gizmodo · Sep 10
Summary
2,780 degrees Fahrenheit and 200 gigapascals marked the point where lab-made ice X began showing superionic behavior, with hydrogen atoms moving freely through an oxygen lattice.
Using synchrotron X-rays, X-ray lasers and a diamond-anvil cell, researchers pushed ultrapure water to 4,274 degrees Fahrenheit and pressures about 2 million times Earth’s sea-level atmosphere.
The crystal then shifted through multiple structures before settling into a hexagonal close-packed form that matched long-standing theoretical predictions for superionic ice.
The result strengthens models of Uranus and Neptune, where scientists think this partly solid, partly liquid water phase exists deep inside the planets.
Researchers said direct proof inside those planets is still likely decades away, but the experiment should sharpen future work on superionic ice’s conductivity, plasticity and planetary effects.