How strange ice could form in the extremely hot interiors of planets

Researchers have compressed super-hot liquids between diamonds to demystify how fluids behave under extreme conditions, such as in the interiors of planets.

Physicists have struggled to track how a liquid’s density changes at extreme temperatures and pressures. To overcome this challenge, John Proctor at the University of Salford in the UK and his colleagues have used diamonds and lasers.

The researchers compressed several liquids including water, methane and ethane…