Water Can Separate Into 2 Different Liquids. We Just Got Closer to Knowing Why

Water can form amazing shapes below freezing point, and the beauty of a snowflakes is testament to that.

Under pressure, the dance of the H 2 O molecule contorts into a strange shape, almost tying themselves in knots to avoid turning into ice.

The behavior of molecule in pressurized liquid water placed under conditions that would usually cause it to crystallise was examined by researchers.

Based on a novel way to model the behavior of water as a suspension of particles, they identified key features of two different liquid states.

The University of Birmingham chemist, Dwaipayan Chakrabarti, says that the model of water gives a magnifying glass into the water.

The kinds of interactions that could be happening when water is supercooled have been suggested by theories in the 1990s.

Scientists have been pushing the limits on cooling water without it flipping into a solid state for years now, eventually managing to hold it in a chaotic liquid form at an insane cold temperature.

Scientists are still trying to figure out what supercooled liquids look like when they're not hot.

At critical points, the polar attractions between water molecule rise above the noise of the particles. Molecules need to find other comfortable configurations without the elbow room.

Researchers often try to simplify what they can by focusing on the important variables. Looking at clumps of water as if they are larger particles dissolved in the liquid helps understand transitions.

There was a subtle change between the water pushing apart and a denser form of particles that settled closer together.

The shape of the interactions in the water looked completely different, with the molecule becoming tangled in networks as they huddle in, or as much simpler forms as they push apart.

"For the first time, we propose a view of the liquid-liquid phase transition based on networkentanglement ideas," says FrancescoSciortino.

This work will inspire novel theoretical modeling.

The space of entangled particle networks is a good place to explore. Transient knots are similar to long chains of covalently-bonded molecule and swap out members as the liquid environment changes.

The nature of the liquid water found in high-pressure, low- temperature environments should be very different from what we find on Earth.

Knowing more about the behavior of water and other liquids under these conditions could give us insight into the activity of materials in extreme or hard to access environments.

If we could see the dancing of the water molecule, the way they flicker, and the way they exchange partners, it would be beautiful.

The realization of the model for water can make this a reality.

The research was published in a journal.