A new type of transition in water was first proposed 30 years ago. It has been difficult to confirm the existence of the transition because it has been predicted. Water doesn't want to be a liquid, instead it wants to become ice. Because of its hidden status, much is still unknown about this liquid-liquid phase transition, unlike the everyday examples of phase transitions in water.
The idea of a liquid-liquid phase transition was proposed in 1992. The co-author of this paper is a member of the original research team.
Computer simulations have been used to help explain what distinguishes the two liquids. A trefoil knot and a Hopf link are examples of high density liquid form arrangements that are considered to be topologically complex. The molecule in the high density liquid are said to be entangled.
The molecules in the low-density liquid form rings and are unentangled.
The paper is written by a student at the University of Birmingham. He says, "This insight has provided us with a completely fresh take on what is now a 30-year-old research problem, and will hopefully be just the beginning."
Two models of water were used in the simulation by the researchers. There are particles that are a thousand times larger than water. Colloids are used to observe and understand physical phenomena that are smaller at the atomic and molecular length scales.
Dr. Chakrabarti says that the model of water provides a magnifying glass into the water and allows us to understand the story of water.
We propose for the first time a view of the liquid-liquid phase transition based on network entangled ideas. I am certain that this work will inspire novel theoretical modeling.
The model they have created will pave the way for new experiments that will confirm the theory and extend the concept of "entangled" liquids to other liquids such as Silicon.
A world-leading expert in this area of research is a professor of chemical and biological engineering at Princeton University.
It greatly enhances and deepens our understanding of a phenomenon that is central to the physics of the most important of liquids: water.
ChristianMicheletti, a professor at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, is interested in understanding the impact of knots and links on biopolymers.
New perspectives for large-scale studies of liquids have been opened by their model for water. They give strong evidence that phase transitions that may be hard to find in traditional analysis of the local structure of liquids are readily picked up by the bonds in the liquid.
It will be widely adopted to study complex molecular systems because of the idea of searching for such intricacies in the somewhat abstract space of pathways.
One after the other, the secrets of water are revealed. Imagine if we could see the dancing of the water molecule, the way they flicker, and the way they exchange partners in the liquid. The realization of the model for water can make this a reality.
More information: Andreas Neophytou et al, Topological nature of the liquid–liquid phase transition in tetrahedral liquids, Nature Physics (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-022-01698-6 Journal information: Nature Physics
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