Amorphous ice 2825598 208890269 2008-04-29T00:40:18Z 72.70.140.75 '''Amorphous ice''' is an [[amorphous solid]] form of water, meaning it consists of [[water]] molecules that are randomly arranged like the atoms of common [[glass]]. Everyday [[ice]] is a [[polycrystalline]] material. Amorphous ice is distinguished by its lack of long-range order. Amorphous ice is produced by cooling liquid water very quickly (around 1,000,000 K/s), so the molecules don't have enough time to form a crystal [[lattice]]. Just as there are many different [[crystalline]] forms of ice (currently fifteen known), there are also different forms of amorphous ice, distinguished principally by their [[density|densities]]. == Formation techniques == The key to producing amorphous ice is the rate of cooling. The liquid water must be cooled to its [[glass transition temperature]] (about 136 K or -137 deg C) in a matter of milliseconds to prevent the spontaneous [[nucleation]] of crystals. This is analogous to the production of [[ice cream]], which must also be frozen quickly to prevent the growth of crystals in the mixture. The difference is that pure water forms crystals much more readily than the heterogeneous mixture of ingredients in ice cream, so amorphous water is more difficult to produce, requiring a physics lab rather than an ice cream churn. [[Pressure]] is another important factor in the formation of amorphous ice, and changes in pressure may cause one form to convert into another. Chemicals known as [[cryoprotectant]]s can be added to water, to lower its freezing point (like an [[antifreeze]]) and increase viscosity, which inhibits formation of crystals. [[Vitrification]] without addition of cryoprotectants can be achieved by very rapid cooling. These techniques are used in biology for [[cryopreservation]] of cells and tissues. == Forms == === Low-density amorphous ice === '''Low-density amorphous ice''', also called '''LDA''', '''vapor-deposited amorphous water ice''', '''amorphous solid water''' (ASW) or '''hyperquenched glassy water''' (HGW), is usually formed in the laboratory by a slow accumulation of water vapor molecules ([[physical vapor deposition]]) onto a very smooth [[metal]] crystal surface under 120 K. In [[outer space]] it is expected to be formed in a similar manner on a variety of cold substrates, such as dust particles. It is expected to be common in the subsurface of exterior [[planets]] and [[comets]].<ref>[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/294/5550/2335 Estimation of water-glass transition temperature based on hyperquenched glassy water experiments] from [[Science (journal)|Science]] (requires registration).</ref> Melting past its glass transition temperature (T<sub>g</sub>) between 120 and 140 K, LDA is more [[viscous]] than normal water. Recent studies have shown the viscous liquid stays in this alternative form of liquid water up to somewhere between 140 and 210 K, a temperature range that is also inhabited by ice I<sub>c</sub><ref>[http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=JCPSA6000107000004001232000001 Liquid water in the domain of cubic crystalline ice I<sub>c</sub>] from [[American Institute of Physics|AIP]].</ref>. LDA has a density of 0.94 g/cm³, less dense than the densest water (1.00 g/cm³ at 277 K), but denser than ordinary ice ([[ice Ih|ice I<sub>h</sub>]]). Hyperquenched glassy water (HGW) is formed by spraying a fine mist of water droplets into a liquid such as propane around 80 K or by hyperquenching fine micrometer-sized droplets on a sample-holder kept at [[liquid nitrogen]] temperature , 77K, in a vacuum. Cooling rates above 10<sup>4</sup> K/sec are required to prevent crystallization of the droplets. At liquid nitrogen temperature, 77K, HGW is kinetically stable and can be stored for many years. === High-density amorphous ice === '''High-density amorphous ice''' ('''HDA''') can be formed by compressing ice I<sub>h</sub> at temperatures below ~140K. At 77 K, HDA forms from ordinary natural ice at around 1.6 GPa<ref>O. Mishima and LD Calvert, and E. Whalley, Nature 310, 393 (1984)</ref> and from LDA at around 0.5 GPa<ref>O. Mishima, LD Calvert, and E. Whalley, Nature 314, 76 (1985).</ref> (approximately 5,000 atm). At 77 K it can be recovered back to ambient pressure and kept indefinitely. At ambient pressure HDA has a density of 1.17 g/cm³<ref>O. Mishima and LD Calvert, and E. Whalley, Nature 310, 393 (1984)</ref>. === Very-high-density amorphous ice === '''Very-high-density amorphous ice''' ('''VHDA'''), was discovered in 1996 by Mishima who observed that HDA became denser if warmed to 160 K at pressures between 1 and 2 GPa and has a density of 1.26 g/cm³ at ambient pressure <ref> O.Mishima, Nature, 384, 6069 pp 546-549 (1996). </ref>. More recently, workers at the University of Innsbruck have suggested that this denser amorphous ice was a third amorphous form of water, distinct from HDA, and called it VHDA <ref>Loerting, T., Salzmann, C., Kohl, I., Mayer, E., Hallbrucker, A., A 2nd distinct structural state of HDA at 77 K and 1 bar, PhysChemChemPhys 3:5355-5357. (2001).</ref> == Uses == Amorphous ice is used in some scientific experiments, especially in [[electron cryomicroscopy]] of biomolecules.<ref>Dubochet, J., M. Adrian, J. J. Chang, J. C. Homo, J. Lepault, A. W. McDowell, and P. Schultz. Cryo-electron microscopy of vitrified specimens. Q. Rev. Biophys. 21:129-228. (1988).</ref> The individual molecules can be preserved for imaging in a state close to what they are in liquid water. == References == <references /> == External links == *[http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/amorph.html Discussion of amorphous ice] at [[London South Bank University|LSBU]]'s website. *[http://www.iop.org/EJ/article/0953-8984/15/45/R01/cm3_45_r01.pdf Journal of Physics article] *[http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7041/full/nature03708.html Glass transition in hyperquenched water] from [[Nature (journal)|Nature]] (requires registration) *[http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/294/5550/2305?rbfvrToken=765f39b90461f7428be6054763df6aa5a115d711 Glassy Water] from [[Science (journal)|Science]], on [[phase diagram]]s of water (requires registration) *[http://www.aip.org/pnu/2002/split/612-3.html AIP accounting discovery of VHDA] *[http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-iarticle_query?1995ApJ%2E%2E%2E455%2E%2E389J HDA in space] *[http://exobiology.arc.nasa.gov/ice/high.html Computerized illustrations of molecular structure of HDA] *[http://bosshog.pablonet.princeton.edu/pgd/papers/pre/PREv71n061505.pdf Structure of amorphous ice] [[Category:Thermodynamics]] [[Category:Forms of water]] [[Category:Water ice]] [[Category:Amorphous solids]] [[fr:Glace amorphe]]