A team of researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) has made a groundbreaking discovery about water’s behavior in extreme conditions. Using supercomputer simulations, they have found that water can exist in two distinct liquid states under certain temperatures and pressures.
The study, led by Francesco Paesani, used advanced computational modeling techniques to explore water’s behavior at supercooled temperatures and high pressures. The team’s findings reveal a new critical point where the two liquid phases coexist, which is expected to be within experimental reach.
According to Paesani, this discovery could have far-reaching implications for fields such as materials science and biology, where water plays a fundamental role. “Our discovery not only deepens an understanding of water’s unusual properties but also sets the stage for groundbreaking experiments,” he said.
The study was published in Nature Physics and used U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) ACCESS allocations on Expanse at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. The researchers’ findings could potentially lead to new breakthroughs in our understanding of water’s behavior and its applications in various fields.
Source: https://today.ucsd.edu/story/uc-san-diego-team-uncovers-mystery-of-waters-hidden-dual-phases