BERLIN, GERMANY – Water, a substance traditionally known for its ability to quench thirst and sustain life, has recently been found to exhibit metallic properties under certain conditions. In a groundbreaking study published in Nature in 2021, researchers demonstrated for the first time that pure water can become conductive, resembling metal, without the need for extreme pressures. This discovery opens new doors for scientists to understand the behavior of water in its metallic phase, providing insights into planetary processes and high-pressure environments.
Typically, water found in nature conducts electricity due to impurities that dissolve into free ions, allowing an electric current to flow. However, under extreme pressures that are challenging to replicate in a lab, pure water can also exhibit metallic conductivity. The traditional method of inducing metallic behavior in water involves subjecting it to high pressures, approximately 48 million times Earth’s atmospheric pressure at sea level. While these pressures have been generated in a laboratory setting, they are unsuitable for studying metallic water.
To address this challenge, a team of researchers led by physicist Robert Seidel from Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie in Germany turned to alkali metals. By bringing pure water into contact with an electron-sharing alkali metal – an alloy of sodium and potassium – the researchers were able to induce metallic behavior in the water without the need for extreme pressures.
The study’s findings not only confirmed the induction of metallic behavior in pure water but also characterized the spectroscopic properties associated with its golden metallic luster. This research not only enhances our understanding of phase transitions on Earth but also has implications for studying extreme high-pressure conditions inside large planets in our solar system.
In planets like Neptune and Uranus, liquid metallic hydrogen is thought to swirl, while Jupiter is the only planet where pressures are thought to be high enough to metallicize pure water. The ability to replicate these conditions within our solar system is an exciting prospect that could provide valuable insights into planetary processes and high-pressure environments.
This discovery could potentially revolutionize our understanding of water’s behavior and properties, shedding light on previously unexplored aspects of this essential substance. As research continues to unravel the mysteries of metallic water, the implications for planetary science and high-pressure physics are vast and promising.