Scientists created a weird new type of ice that is almost exactly as dense as water

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2023

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Using ultracold temperatures and some steel ball bearings, scientists have created a brand-new, bizarre form of ice that has the same density of liquid water.

The ice, known as medium-density amorphous ice, fits into a gap in the annals of frozen water that scientists weren’t sure would ever be filled. Unlike the crystalline ice that forms naturally on Earth, the newly created ice doesn’t have an organized molecular structure. Instead, its molecules are in a chaotic mismatch, more like glass — a state known as amorphous. Other types of amorphous ice have been made before, but they’ve been either much less dense or far denser than liquid water. This new Goldilocks version of amorphous ice is right in the middle, almost exactly matching liquid water’s density, researchers explained in a new study published in the journal Science today (Feb. 2).

“It’s something completely new,” said study senior author Christoph Salzmann (opens in new tab) , a professor of physical and materials chemistry at University College London.Grinding ice

When ice freezes normally on Earth, its molecules stack into an organized crystalline structure. This crystalline ice is one of the weird quirks of H2O, because it floats on liquid water in its solid state rather than sinking. This is due to the relatively big gaps in the crystal structure of water ice, compared with other materials that form denser structures when they crystallize.

When properly manipulated, though, liquid water can also freeze in a disorganized, amorphous state. The first of these states, low-density amorphous ice, was discovered in the 1930s. It’s made by depositing water vapor on very cold surfaces. This process happens naturally in space, Salzmann said, so low-density amorphous ice may be the most common form of ice in the universe.

In the 1980s, researchers discovered that they could also make high-density amorphous ice by compressing regular ice at very low temperatures. But no one ever had ever made amorphous ice with a medium density — that is, until Salzmann and his colleagues had a “crazy Friday afternoon idea.” They decided to try ball milling ice.

A ball mill is a device kind of like a very advanced cocktail shaker. A material is put into a chamber with stainless-steel balls and shaken or turned until the material is ground up. Ball milling is used in many industries, but it’s particularly good at creating amorphous materials and at grinding soft, frozen materials into powders, Salzmann said.

“We said, ‘Why don’t we ball mill ice and see what happens?'” Salzmann said.Weird properties

The researchers expected that the ball mill would just break the ice crystals into smaller ice crystals. But that’s not what happened. Instead, the tumbling steel balls sheared and compressed the ice crystals, shoving them into a new state of disorganization. The result? Medium-density amorphous ice.

Computer modeling showed that the ice starts in a nice, crystalline state, its hydrogen bonds forming a hexagonal lattice. The random shearing from the ball-milling pushes these hydrogen bonds this way and that, leaving them pointing up and down in a chaotic zigzag.

The new form of ice forms at 77 kelvins, or minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 196 degrees Celsius). It has some odd properties beyond its density of 1.06 grams per cubic centimeter (0.037 ounces per 0.06 cubic inches).. (Water has a density of 1 gram per cubic centimeter, or 0.035 punches per 0.06 cubic inches.) Among them, Salzmann said, is that when the researchers compressed the medium-density ice and heated it to minus 185 F (minus 120 C), the ice recrystallized, releasing a large amount of heat.

“With other forms of [amorphous] ice, if you compress them and you release the pressure, it’s like nothing happened,” Salzmann said. “But the MDA [medium-density amorphous ice] somehow has this ability to store the mechanical energy and release it through heating.”Related stories—Why is water important?

—Does pure water exist?

—New study turns understanding of ice upside-down

Medium-density amorphous ice might occur naturally on the ice moons of gas giant planets, Salzmann said, where the gravitational forces of the enormous worlds compress and shear the moons’ ice. If so, the mechanical energy stored in this form of ice could influence the tectonics on these Hoth-like moons.

Understanding medium-density amorphous ice could also help researchers understand liquid water better more generally, Salzmann said. Water is odd not only because its crystalline form floats but also because it has other unique properties, like high surface tension and high melting and boiling points. Scientists still debate the nature of water at extremely low temperatures. Any debate now needs to take into account medium-density amorphous ice, Salzmann said.

“A lot of our understanding of liquid water was built on the pillars that there is low-density and high-density amorphous ice,” he said. “How does the medium-density amorphous ice fit into that picture?”

Business

Post Office scandal: Daughter has had ‘panic attacks’ since mum was accused of stealing

Published

43 mins ago

July 8, 2025

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Post Office scandal: Daughter has had 'panic attacks' since mum was accused of stealing

The daughter of a Post Office victim has told Sky News she suffered “dark thoughts of suicide” in the years after her mother was accused of stealing.

Kate Burrows was 14 years old when her mother, Elaine Hood, was prosecuted and subsequently convicted in 2003.

The first public inquiry report on the Post Office – examining redress and the “human impact” of the scandal – is due to be published today.

“I’ve suffered with panic attacks from about 14, 15 years old, and I still have them to this day,” Kate said.

“I’ve been in and out of therapy for what feels like most of my adult life and it absolutely categorically goes back to [what happened].”

Kate, along with others, helped set up the charity Lost Chances, supporting the children of Post Office victims. She hopes the inquiry will recognise their suffering.

“It’s important that our voices are heard,” she said. “Not only within the report, but in law actually.

“And then maybe that would be a deterrent for any future cover-ups, that it’s not just the one person it’s the whole family [affected].”

Her sister, Rebecca Richards, who was 18 when their mother was accused, described how an eating disorder “escalated” after what happened.

“When my mum was going through everything, my only control of that situation was what food I put in my body,” she said.

She also said that seeing her mother at court when she was convicted, would “stay with me forever”.

“The two investigators were sat in front of my dad and I, sniggering and saying ‘we’ve got this one’.

“To watch my mum in the docks handcuffed to a guard… not knowing if she was going to be coming home… that is the most standout memory for me.”

The sisters are hoping the inquiry findings will push Fujitsu into fulfilling a promise they made nearly a year ago – to try and help the children of victims.

Last summer, Kate met with the European boss of the company, Paul Patterson, who said he would look at ways they could support Lost Chances.

Despite appearing at the inquiry in November last year and saying he would not “stay silent” on the issue, Kate said there has been little movement in terms of support.

“It’s very much a line of ‘we’re going to wait until the end of the inquiry report to decide’,” she said.

“But Mr Patterson met us in person, looked us in the eye, and we shared the most deeply personal stories and he said we will do something… they need to make a difference.”

Fujitsu, who developed the faulty Horizon software, has said it is in discussions with the government regarding a contribution to compensation.

The inquiry will delve in detail into redress schemes, of which four exist, three controlled by the government and one by the Post Office.

Victims of the scandal say they are hoping Sir Wyn Williams, chair of the inquiry, will recommend that the government and the Post Office are removed from the redress schemes as thousands still wait for full and fair redress.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said they were “grateful” for the inquiry’s work, describing “the immeasurable suffering” victims endured and saying the government has “quadrupled the total amount paid to affected postmasters”, with more than £1bn having now been paid to thousands of claimants.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

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