New Form of Water, Both Liquid and Solid, Is 'Really Strange

Hannah Beldotti

AP Biology

February 13, 2018

Current Event #16

Chang, Kenneth. “New Form of Water, Both Liquid and Solid, Is 'Really Strange'.” The New

York Times, The New York Times, 5 Feb. 2018,

www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/science/superionic-water-neptune-uranus.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront.

This week, I read the article, “New Form of Water, Both Liquid, and Solid, Is “Really Strange.” The author elaborated on a form of water that is simultaneously a liquid and solid. This “superionic” water, “consists of a rigid lattice of oxygen atoms through which positively charged hydrogen nuclei move.” Although it has not been found on Earth, the new form of water is thought to be available on Neptune and Uranus’ mantles. Author Kenneth Chang explains the water in greater detail by stating, “The heat melts the chemical bonds between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The high pressure keeps the larger and heavier oxygen atoms stacked in a fixed crystal alignment — a solid — while the hydrogen nuclei, or ions, flow through — a liquid.” In the article, different experiments that scientists have performed and investigated are stated along with an explanation of how they study the water. For example, to stimulate the “superionic” water, researchers at Lawrence Livermore and the University of Rochester, increased the pressure and temperature of water to create similar conditions to those in Uranus and Neptune. Kenneth Chang, science reporter for the New York Times since 2000, goes into great depth on the experiment, “...first squeezed water between two pieces of diamond with a pressure of 360,000 pounds per square inch...The researchers then took the compressed ice, packed in carry-on luggage, to the University of Rochester where it was blasted by a pulse of laser light...heating it to thousands of degrees and exerting a pressure more than a million times that of Earth’s atmosphere.” The results of the experiments aided scientists in providing an explanation of Uranus and Neptune’s, “lopsided, off-center magnetic fields.”

Overall, I thought the author did a commendable job of thoroughly explaining the discovery and experimentation that came with it. However, there were some improvements that should be considered. First, the author continuously says how “Long theorized to be found in the mantles of Uranus and Neptune, the confirmation of the existence of superionic ice could lead to the development of new materials,” yet, he never elaborates on the materials. I think it would have been more effective to state new materials that scientists are working towards developing. Secondly, the author neglects to inform the reader of how this study societal impact. However, it can be assumed that this is not entirely known. On the other hand, I applaud the author’s detail throughout the article. For example, when he described the experiments that scientist performed.

I came away from reading the article with a lot of new knowledge acquired. Not only did I learn about the chemical composition of superionic water, but I also learned how scientists stimulate it and conditions on other planets. Also, I learned how this information can be applied to theories having to do with our solar system. Overall, I thought this article was well written, informative, and interesting.