SellaTheChemistIf anyone is into #StrangeIce my friend and colleague Christoph Salzmann and I will be talking about one of the strangest of strange ices on BBC World Service's Inside Science later tonight, with additional ice talk from Europa and beyond. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct36b9
Our #StrangeIce paper is out in Science. Medium density amorphous ice. It doesn’t float. It doesn’t sink. The density is like water yet the atoms cannot move. It’s made by ball milling “normal” ice at -200 degrees and has lost almost all trace of its original crystalline structure. And if you squeeze it, it stores mechanical energy, an observation that may have implications for worlds like Europa where tidal forces drive mechanical shearing. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq2105
Very amused this morning to find that our MDA ice paper in Science is being reported under "weird news" by the Daily Star, no less, with a strong focus on aliens. Striking to see what they think is "related content". And the irony of the fact that the website is blocked by BT's parental controls. I had to view the dodgy site through UCL network. 😂 #StrangeIce #WeirdIce https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/weird-news/scientists-discover-new-form-ice-29119606
I'll be on Al Jazeera just after the half hour talking about our #StrangeIce Why is it that I still find live stuff so terrifying?
hilaryjohn@sellathechemist
Hi Andrea. Finally heard you on Science in Action on World Service in the early hours. Basically mashing up ice at very low temperatures and that may exist on other planets. Brilliant.
Hi Andrea. Finally heard you on Science in Action on World Service in the early hours. Basically mashing up ice at very low temperatures and that may exist on other planets. Brilliant.
@hilaryjohn2 I only mashed it once. And not long enough. It was Alex Rosu-Finsen who worked the magic with Christoph Salzmann. And Alfred provided important crystallographic insights and key experimental support. And then the computer guys in Cambridge who really helped explain what was going on.
Two Brits, two Austrians, a Dane and and a detribalised Italian. You wonder how easy it will be to recreate such a team in future… @uclchemistry
Two Brits, two Austrians, a Dane and and a detribalised Italian. You wonder how easy it will be to recreate such a team in future… @uclchemistry
@sellathechemist @uclchemistry It may well require alchemy!