And according to the British newspaper, “Daily Mail”, the research might also provide clues regarding the shape that water might take on other planets, where temperatures and pressures differ from those on our own.
A team of scientists from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas made their discovery following they devised a new method for measuring the properties of water under high pressure. It was temporarily melted before it rapidly re-formed into a powder-like collection of tiny crystals.
By slowly raising the pressure, and periodically blasting it with a laser beam, the team found that water ice transitions from the cubic phase known as Ice-VII, to the newly discovered intermediate and quaternary phase Ice-VIIt before settling, to another phase known as Ice-X.
“Although it is unlikely that we will find this new phase of ice anywhere on Earth, it is likely to be a common component within Earth’s mantle as well as in large moons and water on planets outside our system,” said UNLV doctoral student Zack Grande. Solar.
The scientists also said their research has redefined the properties of water at high pressures, and may also help improve understanding of the water in the interior of distant planets.
