Unlocking the secrets of ice

The complex properties of water and ice are not well understood but a team from UCL and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source have revealed new information about a phase of ice called 'ice II'. Given that water makes up 60% of our bodies and is one of the most abundant molecules in the universe, it's no wonder that water is known as the "matrix of life". There are many different forms of ice - all of which vary significantly from the ice you'd find in your freezer. Ice takes on many different forms depending on the pressure at which it developed. As water freezes its molecules rearrange themselves, and high pressure causes the molecules to rearrange in different ways than they normally would. The many distinct phases of ice can be summarised using a phase diagram, which shows the preferred physical states of matter at different temperatures and pressures. Researchers from UCL and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) ISIS Neutron and Muon Source have utilised high pressure neutron diffraction to investigate the impact of ammonium fluoride impurities on water's phase diagram.