Science News Desk – Scientists have made a new discovery related to ice. Through this discovery, scientists can throw light on the behavior of water under different conditions. This device is like a cocktail shaker, which many people are also calling the super duper cocktail shaker. Using it, the researchers created a hitherto unknown form of ice. Such ice may be present in the different icy moons present in our solar system. When we talk about the Moon, we are not only talking about Earth’s Moon, but also the Moons orbiting other planets.
The scientists used a process called ball milling to mix normal ice with steel balls in a container. In this, they combined different ices at minus 200 degrees Celsius, resulting in the formation of medium-density amorphous ice, or MDA, which looks like a white powder. Ordinary ice is like a crystal. In this, the molecules of hydrogen and oxygen present in water are arranged in a systematic manner. Whereas in MDA the water molecules remain disordered like water even when ice is formed.
A research related to this has been published in the Science Journal this week. Christoph Salzmann, Professor of Physical and Materials Chemistry at University College London, said, ‘Ice is frozen water. It contains 2 molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen. Water is a versatile molecular building block, which can form many different structures depending on temperature and pressure. Molecules pack more efficiently under pressure. This is the reason why there are many forms of ice.
Ball milling process is used in most industries to grind or mix materials. By this process, scientists made 8 grams of ice. Later put it in a cool place. Along with this, he raised the question that where such ice can be found in our solar system. Scientists speculate that the kind of force used in the lab could exist on icy moons such as Jupiter’s Europa or Saturn’s Enceladus.