Ice Lighter than Air? Prediction on the Ultra-low Density Ice “Aeroice”

September 08(Fri), 2017

The research team of Okayama University Research Institute of Interdisciplinary Science carried out an exhaustive study on the crystal structure of ice with lower density than normal ice using molecular simulation.

The team predicted some stable crystal structures that have not discovered experimentally.  They also elucidated theoretically that there is not lower limit of ice density, and the newly predicted ultra-low density “aeroices” can be even lighter than air.

These research results were published in The Journal of Chemical Physics, an international scientific journal published by the American Institute of Physics (AIP), making the cover of the journal.
As a single-component substance, water has an exceptional variety of types of solid crystals, and 17 types have been discovered so far. The research would be helpful to explore the low density ices yet to be discovered.

 

Article Information

DOI: 10.1063/1.4994757

Journal: The Journal of Chemical Physics

Title: Communication: Hypothetical ultralow-density ice polymorphs

Authors: TakahiroMatsui, Masanori Hirata,Takuma Yagasaki, Masakazu Matsumoto & Hideki Tanaka

Year of Publication: 2017

Volume: 147

Issue:9

 

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