---
title: "Physicists Confirm an Exotic Form of Water for the First Time: Ice That Doesn't Melt at 2000 °C"
description: "According to Physical Review Letters, physicists have confirmed for the first time a new hexagonal phase of ice that transitions into a superionic state at around 1,427 °C. The discovery could change models of the interiors of Uranus and Neptune."
date: 2026-09-10T16:16:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/physicists-confirm-exotic-form-of-water-supraionic-ice
tags: [superionic-ice, physics, water, extreme-conditions, planetary-science, uranus, neptune]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Physicists Confirm an Exotic Form of Water for the First Time: Ice That Doesn't Melt at 2000 °C

![Computer visualization of exotic ice retaining its crystal lattice at 2000 °C](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/10/fiziki-potverdili-ekzoticheskuyu-formu-vody-superrionnyy-led/fiziki-potverdili-ekzoticheskuyu-formu-vody-superrionnyy-led-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Physical Review Letters published the results of an experiment confirming a new hexagonal (hcp) phase of ice in the superionic state.
- Experimental conditions: pressure up to 230 GPa (about 2.3 million atmospheres) and laser heating up to 2,357 °C; the transition to the superionic state began at around 1,427 °C.
- At pressures above 200 GPa, the hexagonal phase became stable and displaced the previously known cubic (fcc) phase.
- The discovery may require revising models of matter and charge movement in the interiors of Uranus and Neptune, which are responsible for their asymmetric magnetic fields.

Physicists have experimentally confirmed for the first time the existence of an exotic form of water that behaves fundamentally differently from ordinary ice. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a study published in the specialized scientific journal Physical Review Letters. The scientists described a new phase of ice in which, under extreme conditions of pressure and temperature, water acquires anomalous properties and transitions into so-called superionic state — a hybrid form of matter that combines the characteristics of a solid and a liquid.

### How Physicists "Squeezed" Water Between Diamonds

To recreate the conditions that prevail in the interiors of gas giants, the researchers squeezed microscopic droplets of water between the tips of ultra-strong diamonds and simultaneously heated them with lasers. The pressure in the experiment reached 230 gigapascals — about 2.3 million atmospheres; for comparison, the pressure at the center of the Earth is approximately 360 gigapascals. The samples were heated up to 2,357 °C, with temperatures of about 1,427 °C recorded in the initial stages of the phase transitions, and up to 1,977 °C during the formation of the main phases. The structure of the forming ice was analyzed using a narrow beam of X-ray radiation.

### A Hybrid of a Solid and a Liquid

Under normal conditions, water evaporates and expands at high temperatures. However, under colossal pressure, such expansion becomes impossible, and the substance transitions into a superionic state. This is a hybrid phase that simultaneously possesses the properties of a solid and a liquid: oxygen ions maintain an ordered crystalline lattice, while protons (hydrogen ions) move freely within it, like particles in a liquid. It is precisely this combination that makes the new form of water anomalous from the standpoint of classical physics.

### The Hexagonal Phase Ousts the Cubic One

The key result of the work was the discovery of a new hexagonal modification of ice (hcp). At pressures above 200 gigapascals, it was this hexagonal form that became the main and thermodynamically stable one, displacing the previously known cubic modification (fcc). The scientists also recorded that the new phase begins to transition into the superionic state at a temperature of about 1,427 °C, which is significantly lower than expected for similar transitions in other ice modifications.

### What This Means for Uranus and Neptune

The discovery has direct implications for understanding the internal structure of the ice giants. It is believed that superionic ice makes up a significant part of the interiors of Uranus and Neptune. If the new hexagonal phase conducts electric current and deforms differently than previously known forms of ice, scientists will have to revise the existing models of matter and electric charge movement inside these planets. It is precisely these internal processes that are responsible for the formation of the characteristic asymmetric and chaotic magnetic fields of the ice giants.

### What's Next

At present, the authors of the study are calling on theorists to carry out additional calculations to study in detail the electrical and mechanical properties of the newly discovered phase. Only then will it become clear how significantly the new hexagonal modification will change modern understanding of the physics of gas giants and of the behavior of water under extreme conditions that are inaccessible in Earth's laboratories.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Ice Doesn't Melt Even at 2000 °C: Physicists Create an Anomalous Form of Water for the First Time](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/lid-tane-navit-2000-c-fiziki-vpershe-stvorili-1789051475.html) - Единственный предоставленный источник. Подтверждает публикацию в Physical Review Letters, параметры эксперимента (230 ГПа, до 2 357 °C, переход при ~1 427 °C), доминирование hcp-фазы выше 200 ГПа и значение для Урана/Нептуна. Нестыковок цифр не обнаружено.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What is the superionic state of water?
**A:** It is a hybrid phase of matter that combines the properties of a solid and a liquid: oxygen ions form a crystalline lattice, while protons move freely within it, as in a liquid.

### Q: Under what conditions did the physicists create the new form of ice?
**A:** Microscopic droplets of water were squeezed between the tips of diamonds to a pressure of about 230 GPa and heated with lasers to 2,357 °C; the transition to the superionic state began at a temperature of about 1,427 °C.

### Q: How does the new hexagonal phase differ from the previous one?
**A:** At pressures above 200 GPa, the hexagonal modification (hcp) became the main and stable one, displacing the previously known cubic form (fcc).

### Q: Why is this discovery important for astronomy?
**A:** Superionic ice probably makes up a significant part of the interiors of Uranus and Neptune. If the new phase conducts current and deforms differently, the models explaining the asymmetric magnetic fields of these planets will have to be revised.