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New Ice Phase Discovered: Insights into Icy Moons

10/18/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Ice XXI is a new ice phase that forms at room temperature under extreme pressure, reported in Nature Materials.
Diamond anvil cells compressed water to 2 gigapascals, forming a denser tetragonal Ice XXI.
Researchers from Korea Research Institute and European XFEL facility conducted the study, challenging water’s solid-state assumptions.
Ice XXI may illuminate conditions on icy moons like Ganymede and Titan, and the work suggests more metastable ice phases exist.

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Story summary

Ice XXI is a new ice phase that forms at room temperature under extreme pressure, reported in Nature Materials.
Diamond anvil cells compressed water to 2 gigapascals, forming a denser tetragonal Ice XXI.
Researchers from Korea Research Institute and European XFEL facility conducted the study, challenging water’s solid-state assumptions.
Ice XXI may illuminate conditions on icy moons like Ganymede and Titan, and the work suggests more metastable ice phases exist.