There’s an interesting article on Ice VII, which purportedly is created at high velocities, over at Motherboard:
Research published earlier this month in Physical Review Letters suggests that an exotic phase of water, known as “ice VII†could grow at rates exceeding 1,000 miles per hour under the atmospheric conditions found on alien ocean worlds.
Water exists in three main phases (solid, liquid, and gas) and the phase it occupies is a function of atmospheric pressure and temperature. The solid form of water—ice—has several phases of its own, however most of them exist at extremely low temperatures (but some of them can exist at temperatures upwards of 1300 degrees fahrenheit so long as the pressure is high enough.
They say that theoretically there are 17 different phases of ice. I think I’ve seen all of them on my front sidewalk.
From what I understand, liquids require specific conditions that are uncommon on most planets. Interestingly, Jupiter’s moon Titan has liquid methane.
If you watch the Science Channel too much, the phrase “we were completely wrong” is heard often, but with real science, it is followed with a better and more comprehensive understanding.
So, the first paragraph may be wrong by the time I hit the Submit button.
It is my understanding that, since ice is less dense than water, ice formation is favored by reducing, not raising, the pressure. Says Wikipedia:
Water is an exception which has a solid-liquid boundary with negative slope so that the melting point decreases with pressure. This occurs because ice (solid water) is less dense than liquid water, as shown by the fact that ice floats on water. At a molecular level, ice is less dense because it has a more extensive network of hydrogen bonding which requires a greater separation of water molecules. Other exceptions are antimony and bismuth.
“…ice formation is favored by reducing, not raising, the pressure..â€
Think ice skating. However, for a long period this phenomenon only existed in Montreal, Toronto, Boston, Detroit, New York and Chicago. Of note, scientists have recently concluded that the slick saucer passes from Patrick Kane are incontrovertible proof that god unfairly favored this thermodynamic phenomenon in conditions found at the Stadium.
What kind of place do we live in? Water to 15 forms of ice. Light reduced to packets of photons that can’t decide if they are matter or energy. And then move at a velocity that is eerily constant, forcing space itself to bend and then reducing time as well to be variable.
I’ve come to believe that anything is possible, but that’s no way to do scientific research, on ice, or anything else.