For the first time, researchers have succeeded in creating metallic or metallic water.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — For the first time, researchers have succeeded in creating metallic or metallic water. The team created a thin layer of metallic gold water from the outside of the molten metal droplet.
Many people know that water is actually an insulator, when it is very pure. However, making pure water metallic or conductive has long been a challenge for researchers.
Reported from New Atlas, Thursday (29/7), a research team from 11 institutions around the world has done this at the BESSY II facility in Berlin. The key to his breakthrough was pairing water with an alkali metal, which is known to easily remove electrons from the outer shell of the atom.
The problem is that water and alkali metals don’t mix well. The metal can hiss, ignite, and even explode when dropped into water. So for this experiment, the researchers reversed the usual mixture, coating the alkali metals in a thin layer of water.
In the vacuum chamber, the existing sodium-potassium (Na-K) – alloy is dripped from the nozzle. The water vapor is then channeled into it and forms a very thin shell on the outside of the metal droplet. Electrons and metal cations then flow from the Na-K into the water, creating metal water conductive.
“You can see the phase transition to metallic water with the naked eye,” says Dr. Robert Seidel, an author on the study.
“Silver sodium-potassium drops covered him with a golden glow, which was very impressive,” Seidel continued.
To investigate what happened, the scientists examined the short-lived metallic water using optical reflection spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This will confirm the metallic phase.
“Our study not only shows that metallic water can indeed be produced on earth, but also characterizes the spectroscopic properties associated with its beautiful gold metallic luster,” Seidel said.
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