What is it about?
Ice crystals are renowned for their complex fractal geometries branching out from the edges of a hexagonal core at high humidity. Although less intricate, also the compact ice crystals produced at low humidity show an intriguing variability in their shapes which is still not understood. Crystals obtained in these conditions are hexagonal prisms with an aspect ratio that is strongly dependent on temperature: from elongated hexagonal needles to hexagonal platelets. In this paper, through computer simulations, we uncover the molecular growth mechanisms and estimate the growth rates of the relevant ice surfaces , which correlate with the crystal shapes observed at different temperatures.
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Why is it important?
Understanding and controlling how ice crystals grow is important for a range of fields, including cryobiology, cryopreservation, the aviation industry, atmospheric and science and the environment. Although many properties of ice and water are well known, others remain elusive, including how the shape of ice crystals develops and which are its determinant factors. This paper provides insights at the molecular level of the link between shape and temperature.
Perspectives
Ice is an intriguing material, everybody is familiar with, which is still far from being fully understood. It offers a playground for interesting scientific discoveries, relevant to life and the environment. Computer simulations are a powerful tool to look at ice properties molecule by molecule.
Carla Molteni
King's College London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Unveiling the face-dependent ice growth kinetics: Insights from molecular dynamics on the basal and prism surfaces, The Journal of Chemical Physics, February 2025, American Institute of Physics,
DOI: 10.1063/5.0240795.
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