Scientists proved the structure of 'superionic ice' in the laboratory

Dr. from the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. The team, led by Alexis Forestier, pressed water samples between diamond tips in the laboratory, exposed them to pressures of up to 230 gigapascas (2.3 million times the Earth's atmospheric pressure), and simultaneously heated them to 2,357 degrees (2,630 Kelvin) with lasers.

It was determined that water, which could not evaporate due to excessive pressure, turned into a 'closely packed hexagonal' superionic ice structure, which is known to exist in theory but has not been proven to date.

It was stated that in this unusual phase of matter, water behaves neither fully solid nor fully liquid. It was reported that in the structure, oxygen atoms remain fixed in a solid cage, while hydrogen particles move freely like a liquid.

Researchers reported that the findings have significance that could change planetary models in the Solar System.

It was stated that the superionic ice structure can be found in the cores of ice giant planets such as Uranus and Neptune, and that this structure can help explain the formation of complex and asymmetric magnetic fields on these planets.