Researchers have shown that water has multiple liquid states

Water is a ubiquitous liquid that has many unique properties. The way it reacts to changes in pressure and temperature can be completely different from other fluids, and these properties are essential for many practical applications and especially for the life we ​​know. The cause of these discrepancies has been the source of scientific research, but now, an international team of researchers, including Professor Nicolas Giovambatista of CINUY, has proven that water can exist in two different liquid states – one of many results. Can. Inconsistent properties of water. His research appears in a paper published in the November 20 issue of the journal Science.

“Based on the results obtained from computer simulations, it is possible that water existed in two different liquid states about 30 years ago,” said GeoVambatista. “This rival hypothesis in water chemistry and physics, and has been a controversial scenario since its inception. This is because experiments that can use two liquid states in water have been very challenging because of the apparent inevitability. Ice formation in situations where two liquids Should be. “

The normal “liquid” state of water that we are all familiar with corresponds to liquid water at normal temperature (about 25 degrees C). However, the paper shows that water at low temperatures (approximately -63 degrees Celsius) exists in two different liquid states, low-density liquids at low pressures and high-density liquids at high pressures. Both of these liquids have significantly different properties and are distinguished by a 20% density. The results suggest that under appropriate conditions, water should exist as two static liquids that coexist with oil and water through a thin interface.

Because water is one of the most important substances on Earth – the solvent of life as we know it – its phase behavior plays a fundamental role in various fields including biochemistry, climate, cryopreservation, crybiology, physics including where water soluble in many industrial processes, Or acts as an impurity. It follows that abnormal characteristics in water phase behavior, such as the presence of two liquid phases, can affect numerous scientific and engineering applications.

“It is an open question how the presence of two liquids can affect the behavior of aqueous solutions in general, and in particular, how two liquids can affect biomolecules in an aqueous environment,” Geovambatista said. “This encourages further study in the search for potential applications.”

Geovambatista is a member of the PhD in Physics and Degree Chemistry. Applications at CUNY.

An international team led by Anders Nilsson, a professor of chemical physics at Stockholm University, used complex experiments and computer simulations to prove this theory. The experiments, described by GeoVambatista as “science-fiction-like”, were performed by colleagues at Stockholm University in Sweden, Postach University in Korea, PAL-XFL in Korea, and the degree SLQ National Acceleration Laboratory in California. Computer simulations were performed by Peter H. Poole, a professor at the University of St. Francis Xavier in Canada. Since these experiments were so complex, computer simulations played an important role in the interpretation of the experiments and some observations were not accessible during the experiments.