Home > Press > Scientists probe the limits of ice: Transition between ice and liquid water gets fuzzy at the nanoscale
 |
| The coexistence of ice and liquid water breaks down at the nanoscale. Credit: Wikimedia Commons |
Abstract:
How small is the tiniest possible particle of ice? According to new NSF-funded research published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the smallest nanodroplet of water in which ice can form is only as big as 90 water molecules -- a tenth the size of the smallest virus. At those small scales, according to University of Utah chemist and study co-author Valeria Molinero, the transition between ice and water gets a little fuzzy.
Scientists probe the limits of ice: Transition between ice and liquid water gets fuzzy at the nanoscale
Alexandria, VA | Posted on November 9th, 2019That transition is among the most important transformations between phases (solids, liquids and gases) on our planet, where it has unique effects on climate while regulating the viability of life. Understanding the conditions that lead to the formation of ice is an active quest in the environmental and earth sciences, physics, chemistry, biology and engineering.
Ice exists on Earth almost exclusively in the highly ordered hexagonal crystal structure known as "ice I." In our atmosphere, small water clusters form and subsequently freeze, seeding larger crystals and eventually clouds. Due to competing thermodynamic effects, however, below a certain diameter these water clusters cannot form stable ice I. The size range of water clusters capable of forming ice I has been investigated for years, with most recent estimates narrowing the range from as low as 90 water molecules to as high as 400.
In the new study, researchers combine recent advances to disentangle the interplay between the constraints that act on the ice-liquid transition in nanometer-sized clusters.
"This research provides fundamental insights into a substance as familiar as water," says Anne-Marie Schmoltner, a program director in NSF's Division of Chemistry. "With sophisticated computer models, we can understand what happens with every single water molecule in a very, very small droplet."
The research was funded through an NSF award supporting the Center for Aerosol Impacts on Climate and the Environment.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
NSF Public Affairs, (703) 292-7090
Copyright © National Science Foundation
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
| Related Links |
| Related News Press |
News and information
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Chemistry
What heat can tell us about battery chemistry: using the Peltier effect to study lithium-ion cells March 8th, 2024
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
Possible Futures
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
With VECSELs towards the quantum internet Fraunhofer: IAF achieves record output power with VECSEL for quantum frequency converters April 5th, 2024
Discoveries
Chemical reactions can scramble quantum information as well as black holes April 5th, 2024
New micromaterial releases nanoparticles that selectively destroy cancer cells April 5th, 2024
Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024
Materials/Metamaterials/Magnetoresistance
Nanoscale CL thermometry with lanthanide-doped heavy-metal oxide in TEM March 8th, 2024
Focused ion beam technology: A single tool for a wide range of applications January 12th, 2024
Announcements
NRL charters Navy’s quantum inertial navigation path to reduce drift April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters
Simulating magnetization in a Heisenberg quantum spin chain April 5th, 2024
Discovery points path to flash-like memory for storing qubits: Rice find could hasten development of nonvolatile quantum memory April 5th, 2024
Water
Taking salt out of the water equation October 7th, 2022
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||