Scientists Create Ice XXI at Room Temperature Using Diamonds

Scientists just created a brand new type of ice at room temperature, and it might help us find life beyond Earth.

Researchers at the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science discovered Ice XXI, the 21st known phase of frozen water. Unlike the ice cubes in your freezer, this exotic form only appears under crushing pressure created by squeezing water between two diamonds.

The team used a tool called a dynamic diamond anvil cell that generates pressure more than 20,000 times stronger than what we experience at sea level. Under these extreme conditions, water stayed liquid at room temperature until the pressure became so intense it crystallized into entirely new structures.

Using X-ray lasers that captured images one million times per second, the scientists watched water transform through previously unknown crystallization pathways. They caught Ice XXI appearing briefly before the water settled into another exotic form called Ice VI.

Most people know ice as a single substance, but water molecules can arrange themselves into more than 20 different crystal structures depending on temperature and pressure. Scientists create these unusual phases in labs because they don't occur naturally on Earth.

The Ripple Effect

This discovery reaches far beyond the laboratory. Ice XXI has the same density as the high-pressure ice layers believed to exist deep inside Jupiter's moons Europa and Ganymede, and Saturn's moon Enceladus.

NASA thinks these icy moons might harbor liquid water oceans beneath their frozen surfaces. Understanding how water behaves under extreme pressure could reveal whether these hidden oceans might support life.

"This discovery may provide new clues for exploring the origins of life under extreme conditions in space," says lead researcher Yun-Hee Lee. The finding gives scientists a roadmap for understanding what happens to water in the crushing depths of these distant worlds.

The breakthrough shows that even familiar substances like water still hold surprises. By observing processes at incredibly fast speeds, researchers can witness phenomena that would otherwise remain invisible.

Every new ice phase brings us closer to understanding the possibilities for life beyond our planet.