A team of scientists transformed pure water into a metal.
Pure water only becomes metallic or electronically conductive at extremely high pressures. However, researchers demonstrated that there’s another way. By bringing pure water into contact with an alloy of sodium and potassium, free-moving charged particles can be added, turning water metallic. You can even see the phase transition to metallic water with the naked eye!
The resulting conductivity only lasts a few seconds. Still, it’s a significant step toward understanding this water phase. The research could also allow a close study of extreme high-pressure conditions inside giant planets like Neptune and Uranus, where liquid metallic hydrogen is thought to swirl. In Jupiter, pressures are considered high enough to metallicize pure water. The prospect of replicating these conditions in our Solar System is exciting indeed.
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