Ice is one A key component of the universe. Comets, satellites, exoplanets have frozen water molecules, and when you cool from summer heat, there are water molecules in your drink. However, under a microscope, even if it is made of the same components, not all ice is the same.
The internal structure of Earth’s ice is cosmological strange. Its molecules are arranged in geometric structures, usually hexose that repeat each other. Due to the temperature and pressure of our planets, the ice on Earth forms in this way: the water here will slowly freeze, which allows its molecules to arrange themselves into crystals.
But due to conditions, the ice formed in the space is different – water exists in a vacuum and is affected by extreme temperatures. As a result, space ice is considered amorphous and lacks a unique organizational structure like the Earth.
This presents challenges for scientists trying to understand planet formation and life. Not fully understands the kinetics of amorphous ice in space have a chain effect. For example, uncertainty about how space water freezes makes it difficult to estimate the proportion of water in other solar systems.
Therefore, researchers are studying space ice to better understand how frozen water is acting away from the Earth. Ice samples from comets, asteroids and other solar system fragments will help, but before capturing these debris, scientists are trying to understand space ice through computer models and ice simulations on Earth. The more they learn, the more surprised it becomes.
A recent report published in Physical Review B shows that the amorphous ice that is spread throughout the universe does have some order. The paper may theoretically be composed of structured fragments, i.e., crystalline regions on Earth, but only about 3 nanometers wide – caused by chaos.
