An experiment, a year ago, the existence was confirmed of 'superionic ice', a strange form of water that could comprise most of the giant icy planets in the entire universe.

In 1988, computer simulations predicted that water would take on a strange, metal-like shape if pushed beyond the surface. map of known phases of ice.

superionic ice

30 years ago a theory emerged that seems contradictory: there is a state of water that is solid and liquid at the same time. According to theoretical scientists, The so-called superionic ice would help explain the strange magnetic field of Uranus and Neptune.

In Xataka

Superionic ice, both liquid and solid, can exist, but at 5,000ºC and extremely high pressure

The experimental confirmation came at the Laser Energy Laboratory in Brighton, New York, where one of the most powerful lasers in the world operates. It was fired at a drop of water, creating a shock wave that raised the pressure of the water to millions of atmospheres and its temperature to thousands of degrees. X-rays that passed through the droplet in the same fraction of a second revealed that within the shock wave it did not become a superheated liquid or gas. Paradoxically, but just as the physicists looking at the screens in an adjacent room expected, The atoms froze and formed crystalline ice.

The discovery of superionic ice potentially resolves some doubts about the composition of the so-called 'ice giants'. So knowing more about this substance can give us more clues about how the structure of these planets and their magnetic field work, and how it compares to that of the Earth.

Including the hexagonal arrangement of water molecules found in common ice, known as 'Ih ice', scientists had already discovered 18 puzzling ice crystal architectures. After ice I, which occurs in two forms, Ih and Ic, the rest are numbered from II to XVII in the order of their discovery.

Superionic ice can now claim the title of ice XVIII. It is a new crystal, but with a different touch. All previously known water ices are made of intact water molecules, each with an oxygen atom bonded to two hydrogens. But superionic ice is not like that. It exists in a kind of limbo, part solid and part liquid. Individual water molecules break apart. Oxygen atoms form a cubic lattice, but the hydrogen atoms spill out freely, flowing like a liquid through the rigid box of oxygens.

In conclusion, water is a very simple substance in appearance, but its phase diagram at high pressures still holds many mysteries for us. Also about the planets that we are going to explore in the future.

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The news

This new type of black ice is probably more common in the universe than previously assumed

was originally published in

Xataka Science

by
Sergio Parra

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According to a new study that analyzes intimate partner violence in Europe, it is suggested that the prevalence of intimate partner violence tends to be higher in countries with greater gender equality because the formation and dissolution of couples occurs more frequently, not because men are necessarily more violent against their partners.

The Nordic Paradox

Recent studies suggest that intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in Europe is highest among some of the most gender equal countries in the world, such as Sweden, Finland and Denmark. This is part of the so-called "Nordic paradox.".

In other words, Spain is more insecure in any context due to violent death than Finland and Norway, but it is safer in the marital context if we talk about women.

In Xataka Science

Abuse or digital violence between couples: they suffer it more than they do during adolescence

In order to unravel the reasons behind these data, the aforementioned study presents new indicators that are sensitive to the frequency of victimization. The new indicators are based on aggregate data from the Fundamental Rights Agency's survey on violence against women for the 28 EU Member States.

RCountry rankings in terms of IPV levels change substantially when overall prevalence measures are replaced by their 'previous partner' and 'current partner' components and, especially, when frequency of victimization is considered. When comparing the traditional classification of IPV prevalence with the current classification of indicators sensitive to repetition of intimate partner violence, Nordic countries fall in several positions.

Thus, the findings suggest that the prevalence of IPV tends to be higher in countries with greater gender equality because couple formation and dissolution occur more frequently, but not because men are necessarily more violent against their partners.

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The news

Violence in the couple increases in Nordic countries because there is more formation and dissolution of couples

was originally published in

Xataka Science

by
Sergio Parra

.