Scientists managed to cool water down to -263 degrees Celsius without freezing it

This statement was made by Swiss engineers from the ETH University located in Zurich. This is an absolute record.

This historical event was reported by the Internet edition New Atlas.

You know very well that under normal conditions the freezing point of water is 0 degrees Celsius. It is at this temperature that water molecules begin to crystallize and form a rigid crystal lattice, which spreads over the entire volume of the cooled liquid.

How did it happen

So, to prevent the formation of a three-dimensional structure of ice during the experiment, a new substance, which scientists called - lipid mesophase, allowed.

Inside this substance are molecules, the behavior of which almost completely repeats the algorithm of actions of molecules of fats or lipids. In this case, spontaneously forming membranes.

In this case, these membranes form a whole microscopic network of channels, the width of which does not exceed a nanometer. Thus, there is simply no room left for ice crystals to form.

This means that if a substance, for example, water, is added to these membranes, it will remain in a liquid state even at extremely low temperatures.

By the way, the first substance that the Swiss scientists cooled by this method was helium. Engineers have safely reduced its temperature to -263 degrees Celsius, which, by the way, is only 10 degrees above the temperature of absolute zero.

What does this discovery give

The results of this experiment are actually very difficult to overestimate. After all, the ability to cool liquids much below their freezing point will allow scientists to evaluate them. behavior at extremely low temperatures, which in the future promises many sensational scientific discoveries.