Beyond the popular belief that water can exist primarily in three physical states, researchers from the University of Birmingham and Sapienza Universit di Roma have unveiled a unique property that water can change and transform into two different liquids. is called a phase transition. The idea was first proposed three decades ago. However, this phase transition occurs at extremely cold temperatures.
In our common sense, we have been taught that water turns into solid ice at low temperatures and in practice this remains the biggest challenge in confirming a theory that has baffled scientists for nearly 30 years.
Researchers said the reason behind the liquid-liquid transition remains mostly unknown as chemical functions hidden inside the water are responsible for this phenomenon.
Findings of the study published in the journal nature physicsExplain that a main characteristic of liquid water is the anomalous behavior of its thermodynamic reaction functions upon cooling, the most famous being the maximum density at ambient pressure.
Professor of Sapienza Università di Roma and co-author of the study, Francesco Sciortino, was part of the original team that proposed the idea of a liquid-liquid phase transition in water in 1992. He said, “In this work, we propose, for the first time, a view of the liquid–liquid phase transition based on network entanglement considerations. I am sure this work will inspire novel theoretical modeling based on topological concepts.”
In explaining the phenomenon, we need to understand the molecular structure and relationships, whereas in liquid form with high density the molecules are arranged in such a way that they resemble a pretzel, they become entangled, whereas in liquid form with low density they are entangled. Molecules mostly have rings and hence they are termed as entangled.
According to the University of Birmingham, the researchers used a colloidal model of water in their simulation, and then two widely used molecular models of water. Colloids are particles that can be a thousand times larger than a molecule of water. Because of their relatively large size and therefore slow movement.
“This colloidal model of water provides a magnifying glass into molecular water, and enables us to unravel the mysteries of water related to the story of the two liquids,” said the paper’s lead author, Dr. Dwaipayan Chakraborty in a statement.
Sciortino said that, “Water, one after the other, reveals its secrets! Dream how beautiful it would be if we could look inside the liquid and observe the dance of the water molecules, the way they flicker.” are, and the way they exchange partners, the reorganization of the hydrogen bond network.”
The team hopes that the model they devised will pave the way for new experiments that will validate the theory and extend the concept of ‘entangled’ fluids to other liquids, such as silicon.
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