Scientists discover ‘superionic ice,’ a new form of water may lurk inside alien planets

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Scientific research dealing with phenomena on celestial bodies and distant planets is almost guaranteed to yield interesting results. The newest experiment exposed a droplet of water squeezed between diamonds to an extremely powerful laser, which brought the temperature of water to the levels found on some stars. The result was a new water phase, very likely to be found on those stars. Scientists believe that this result may explain some of the measurements of corresponding magnetic fields that science could not explain until now.

Key Takeaways:

By squeezing a water droplet between two diamonds and blasting it with a powerful laser, scientists created superionic ice.
Liquid, vapor and ice are not the only phases of water; water molecules can settle in other arrangements.
Scientists wonder whether superionic ices are in the cores of Neptune or Uranus, or inside the frozen seas of one of Jupiter’s moon.

“Previously, researchers used shock waves to create this weird ice for just 20 nanoseconds before it dissolved.”

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