Scientists discovered “plastic ice,” a strange form of ice that exists under extreme heat and pressure. Found inside icy moons and exoplanets, it’s soft, moldable, and may allow nutrients to flow between ocean layers. This discovery could reshape our understanding of alien worlds and their potential to support life.
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Scientists discover a strange "plastic ice" that may shape alien worlds.
Plastic ice forms under extreme conditions—very high temperatures and pressures—and it exists somewhere between being a solid and a liquid.
Scientists believe this kind of ice could form deep inside icy planets or moons, like Jupiter's moon Europa or Neptune.
It is called "plastic ice" because it behaves differently from normal ice. Normal ice is hard and rigid, but plastic ice is softer and can be molded or squeezed more easily.
In plastic ice, the water molecules are locked into a fixed position, like in solid ice, but they can also rotate freely, like in liquid water.
In Ice found on earth, molecules are arranged in a hexagonal pattern, like a honeycomb. But plastic ice is completely different. It forms at extremely high pressures—about 30,000 times the pressure at the bottom of Earth’s oceans—and temperatures over 177°C.
Scientists used a special tool called a neutron beam to study water molecules under extreme conditions. They heated water samples to over 326°C and applied pressures up to 60,000 times higher than Earth’s atmospheric pressure.
As the neutrons hit the water molecules, they measured how much energy the molecules gained or lost. This helped them figure out how the molecules were moving. When the molecules started spinning in place while staying fixed in a cubic structure, they knew they had found plastic ice.
It could help to understand what happens inside icy worlds, both in our solar system and beyond. For example, moons like Europa (a moon of Jupiter) and Titan (a moon of Saturn) may have had plastic ice in their early stages before they turned into the ocean worlds we see today. By studying plastic ice, scientists can learn how these moons evolved and whether they might support life.
Plastic ice might actually help create better conditions for life. One idea is that plastic ice could allow salts and nutrients to move between the seafloor and the ocean above. On Earth, nutrient exchange between the ocean floor and water supports ecosystems. If plastic ice works similarly on exoplanets, it could feed the oceans with nutrients, making them more likely to support life.
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PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Which factor primarily drives the formation of "plastic ice" on alien planets? A) High gravitational pull B) Extreme pressure conditions C) Low atmospheric oxygen levels D) Presence of methane gas Answer: B Explanation: Scientists discover that extreme pressure conditions cause water molecules to rearrange into a unique phase called "plastic ice." This phase exists between solid and liquid states, allowing molecules to flow like a viscous liquid. |
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