A group of scientists from the University of Chicago and the Carnegie Institute of Washington have created a new form of water called Superionic Ice.
It is a form of frozen water that is formed under very high pressure. To obtain the high-pressure conditions, scientists pressed water between two diamonds. This high-pressure environment is created using diamonds as they are the hardest substance on
Earth.
This pressure is roughly equal to the pressure near the core of the planets like Neptune or Uranus. The pressurized water is then heated using a powerful laser called ‘High brightness X-ray beams’.
This resulted in the rearrangement of the water molecules as its structure expanded. This allowed the hydrogen atoms to move around while the oxygen atom remained at its place. Due to the high rate of randomness of this newly formed superionic ice, it was able to exist in both solid and liquid states at once.
As per the scientists, the superionic ice can positively affect a planet’s magnetic field. The Earth’s magnetic field protects it from the harmful radiation from the Sun but planets like Neptune and Uranus do not have such protection. Further studies on this new phase of water can help scientists in finding new planets which can support life.