Scientists have recreated, if only momentarily, a new form of ice that can remain solid at very high temperatures. The possibility of this kind of ice may explain why the gas giant planets Uranus and Neptune have such odd magnetic fields.
On earth, water is liquid at temperatures humans operate in. It solidifies into ice only at 0°C (32°F) and becomes steam at 100°C (212°F). A few years ago, scientists recreated another form of water, superionic ice or Ice XVIII, that is both liquid and solid at the same time. This happens when the oxygen atoms crystallize, but the hydrogen atoms are free to flow between them.
Further experiments have resulted in a still newer form of superionic ice called Ice XIX, which is cubic and highly conductive. If such a form of ice took up a large part of the interiors of Uranus and Neptune, which are under extreme pressure and very hot, it would go a long way toward explaining their strange magnetic fields. For planets that are already mostly liquid or gas, it would add stability as well. Read about this new form of ice at ScienceAlert. -via Damn Interesting
(Image credit: Gleason et al., Scientific Reports, 2023)