The Structure of Ice Grown in Bulk Supercooled Water

Abstract

The structure of ice grown in water supercooled to temperatures between ?2C and ?7.5C has been studied and recorded by flash photography. The ice structures formed below ?3C are not co-planar with the basal plants of the seed crystals but are split into two, and occasionally more, segments. At temperatures below ?5.5C secondary splitting occurs on the major growth segments, the complexity of the structure increasing with increased supercooling. A stepped growth mechanism has been suggested to explain thew observations. The three-dimensional structures so formed are sufficiently, complex to retain unfrozen liquid and so give rise to spongy ice.