Scientists Find That Ice Generates Electricity When Bent

"Phys.org is reporting on a study published in Nature Physics involving ICN2 at the UAB campus, Xi'an Jiaotong University (Xi'an) and Stony Brook University (New York), showing for the first time that ordinary ice is a flexoelectric material -- meaning it can generate electricity when subjected to mechanical deformation," writes longtime Slashdot reader fahrbot-bot. From the report: "We discovered that ice generates electric charge in response to mechanical stress at all temperatures. In addition, we identified a thin 'ferroelectric' layer at the surface at temperatures below -113C (160K)," explains Dr. Xin Wen, a member of the ICN2 Oxide Nanophysics Group and one of the study's lead researchers. "This means that the ice surface can develop a natural electric polarization, which can be reversed when an external electric field is applied -- similar to how the poles of a magnet can be flipped. The surface ferroelectricity is a cool discovery in its own right, as it means that ice may have not just one way to generate electricity, but two: ferroelectricity at very low temperatures, and flexoelectricity at higher temperatures all the way to 0 C." This property places ice on a par with electroceramic materials such as titanium dioxide, which are currently used in advanced technologies like sensors and capacitors.

Since we are talking about ice...

[LordHighExecutioner]

...the discovery is of course "cool". However water is a strongly polar molecule: when you arrange a bunch of them into a crystal, you get a polarized solid, akin to quartz and other crystals. Nothing new, after all.

Re:

[storkus]

Apparently you didn't even glance at the paper because the very first sentence reads:

Frozen water at ambient pressureâ"common ice, also known as hexagonal Ih iceâ"is a non-polar material, even though individual water molecules are polar.

How much?

[SuperDre]

Great the discovered ice can generate electricity, but how much? Any quantity to practically power/charge anything without needing something like the size of greenland?

Re:

[OrangAsm]

What's wrong with using Greenland to charge an electric vehicle?

Re:How much?

[ArsenneLupin]

Because, once it's called Orangeland, it will refuse to do so, due to the fallout with Musk.

Re:

[cstacy]

What's wrong with using Greenland to charge an electric vehicle?

Jesus Christ, it's right there in the name!
A natural resource screaming to be used.
Annex the island, save the planet.

Re:

[chas.williams]

Ice-covered moons are pretty big. Any implications there?

Re: How much?

[dj245]

The headline oversimplifies, it is more accurate to say the ice generates a voltage. It's an interesting phenomenon but not revolutionary enough to solve the world's energy problems.

Hmm yes

[Ceriel Nosforit]

So ice planets are intelligent, is what you are saying. Very interesting.

Re:

[cstacy]

So ice planets are intelligent, is what you are saying. Very interesting.

All these ice worlds are yours, except Europa.
Attempt no landing there.

Ice moons/planets

[Viol8]

Could this mean that various ice moons and planets could have magnetic fields? Also both the ice giants uranus and neptune have them and the latters is particularly strong.

Re:

[ArsenneLupin]

Uranus an ice giant? Yeah, indeed Wikipedia does confirm that it is an ice giant rather that a gas giant. You learn something every day!

But just how do you get rid of all those ice cubes in your underwear then?

Ok, but then wikipedia confirms that methane is still the third-most-abundant component of Uranus's atmosphere

Not impressed

[Incadenza]

Not impressed, unless they know how to achieve this at room temperature.

Re: Not impressed

[Incadenza]

At 0.06 atm water freezes at 0.01C.

You must be wearing a lot of sweaters to call that room temperature. Plus an oxygen mask.

\o/

[easyTree]

Can we have ice skates with LEDs powered by current from the pressure differential across the blade?

Re:

[cstacy]

Can we have ice skates with LEDs powered by current from the pressure differential across the blade?

No. Differential Pressure most likely refers to Bernoulli's Principle, but that is not how ice skating actually works. It is the explanation often given, but it's incorrect. The skate flies over the ice simply because your foot is pushing against the ice. There is some melt happening but that does not involve the laminar flow to create lift. However, when the pressure of the ice moving against your blade equals the pressure of the ice going into your skull is equal, we call that an aerodynamic stall which i

ICE?

[Harold Halloway]

Pretty much everybody wants to tell ICE to get bent.

For science!

[AngelFrog]

I mean sure i'm willing to bend ICE over for science but... i really don't fancy them that way.

This is new??

[ve3oat]

I thought we knew a long time ago that bending ice creates a small electrical charge. I vaguely recall that it is similar to the well-known piezoelectric effect.

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[Gilmoure]

Yeah, wasn't it in a James Blish or Kurt Vonnegut story?