In News
- Recently, A team of researchers at University College London and the University of Cambridge have created a rare new form of ice called Medium-density Amorphous Ice.
About
- Methodology:Â
- They used a technique called ball-milling, which grinds crystalline ice into small particles using metal balls in a steel jar, to create the amorphous ice.Â
- Ball milling is commonly used in industries to grind and blend materials into amorphous forms.Â
- The study team used liquid nitrogen to cool a grinding jar to -200°C and vigorously shook crystalline ice with steel ball bearings.
- They used a technique called ball-milling, which grinds crystalline ice into small particles using metal balls in a steel jar, to create the amorphous ice.Â
- Properties:
- The new form of ice more closely resembles liquid water.
- It has the same density as that of liquid water, while being in solid state.
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Crystalline vs. Amorphous Ice:
- Almost all of the ice we see in the natural environment of Earth (e.g. in snow, your freezer, in the polar caps) is crystalline ice.Â
- Amorphous ice consists of water molecules arranged in a disordered state, with no large-scale regularity to their orientations or positions.
Source:IE
