Ice That Freezes at Room Temperature Discovered in X-Ray Laser Experiment   Science Alert - October 14, 2025

A strange new phase of ice has been discovered during experiments with the world's largest X-ray laser. Meet ice XXI, a bizarre phase that forms at room temperature, under extreme pressure. The solidified water we're most familiar with here on Earth is technically known as ice I, but it's just the tip of the iceberg - for instance, aliens on Neptune could be dropping ice XVIII in their drinks. Exposing plain old H2O to different temperature and pressure conditions could result in more than 20 different phases of the stuff, in fact. Ice XXI is the latest to join the ranks. It has a tetragonal crystal structure with fairly large repeating units consisting of 152 water molecules, which makes it distinct from all other known phases of ice.

Scientists Discover a New Form of Ice That Shouldn't Exist   SciTech Daily - October 12, 2025

Researchers at the European XFEL and DESY are investigating unusual forms of ice that can exist at room temperature when subjected to extreme pressure. Ice comes in many forms, even when made of nothing but water molecules. Scientists have now identified more than 20 unique solid structures, or phases, of ice, each with its own molecular arrangement. These variations are labeled with Roman numerals, such as ice I, ice II, and ice III.