This new kind of ice can bend like a noodle without breaking

16 Jul 2021

This new kind of ice can bend like a noodle without breaking

This new kind of ice can bend like a noodle without breakingWe know that ice is not flexible, generally.

However, scientists from Zhejiang University in China have created tiny strands of ice that can bend like noodles or wires, without breaking. Moreover, these ice strands can also be stretched out, like a rubber band.

These strands are about 10 micrometres to less than 800 nanometres thick. That is much thinner than human hair.

They made these strands using water vapour and very cold temperatures (about minus 50 degrees Celsius) as well as a metal needle made of tungsten charged with electricity.

These ice strands are also excellent at transmitting light. So, in the future, they could be used for new technologies.
How is this ice so 'bendy'?
Under normal conditions, ice forms with cracks or holes. Sometimes, the ice crystals are also not perfectly set together. However, in a lab, scientists were able to arrange the ice crystals in an almost perfect shape. This helps it to be bendy.

See the 'bendy' ice below in the video (courtesy of New Scientist/Youtube):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5xV1oAPw5E

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We know that ice is not flexible, generally. However, scientists from Zhejiang University in China have created tiny strands of ice that can bend like […]

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