The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
(PhysOrg.com) -- A wide range of phenomena depend on ice specifically, phase transitions during ice crystal surface melting. In this transition, which occurs near the melting point, the ice surface morphs into what is known as a quasi-liquid layer (QLL) a thin layer of ice grains where the water molecules are not in rigid solid structure, yet not in the random order of liquid. While previous research showed that QLL thickness increased with temperature, the results varied by as much as two orders of magnitude. Recently, however, scientists at Hokkaido University, in conjunction with Olympus Engineering Co., Ltd., developed a technique laser confocal microscopy combined with differential interference contrast microscopy that increases spatiotemporal resolution to point needed to visualize transition process of the 0.37nm (the thickness of one water molecule) step-like crystal surface at 0.1 4 seconds per frame. Their findings provide molecular-level understanding of...