Scientists discovered a new form of ice called hexagonal close-packed (hcp) superionic ice under extreme pressures up to 2.3 million atmospheres and temperatures exceeding 2,600 kelvins. Using diamond anvils and lasers, researchers led by physicist Alexis Forestier created conditions mimicking the interiors of ice giant planets like Uranus and Neptune, where this exotic ice state may influence magnetic field generation.
Scientists have experimentally created hexagonal close-packed (hcp) ice, a exotic form of superionic ice, by subjecting water to extreme pressures up to 2.3 million atmospheres and temperatures exceeding 2,600 kelvins. This state of matter, previously only theorized, features oxygen atoms in a rigid crystal lattice while hydrogen nuclei move freely like liquid particles. The discovery is significant because superionic ice is believed to exist in the interiors of ice giant planets like Uranus and Neptune, where it may influence their magnetic field generation.