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Ultrafast superheating and melting of bulk ice - Nature

  • ️Laubereau, A.
  • ️Thu Jan 12 2006
  • Letter
  • Published: 12 January 2006

Nature volume 439, pages 183–186 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

The superheating of a solid to a temperature beyond its melting point, without the solid actually melting, is a well-known phenomenon. It occurs with many substances1,2,3,4,5, particularly those that can readily be produced as high-quality crystals. In principle, ice should also be amenable to superheating. But the complex three-dimensional network of hydrogen bonds that holds water molecules together and gives rise to unusual solid and liquid properties6,7,8,9,10,11 strongly affects the melting behaviour of ice12,13,14; in particular, ice usually contains many defects owing to the directionality of its hydrogen bonds. However, simulations are readily able to ‘create’ defect-free ice that can be superheated15,16. Here we show that by exciting the OH stretching mode of water, it is possible to superheat ice. When using an ice sample at an initial temperature of 270 K, we observe an average temperature rise of 20 ± 2 K that persists over the monitored time interval of 250 ps without melting.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physik-Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Strasse, D-85748, Garching, Germany

    H. Iglev, M. Schmeisser, K. Simeonidis, A. Thaller & A. Laubereau

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  1. H. Iglev

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  2. M. Schmeisser

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  3. K. Simeonidis

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  4. A. Thaller

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  5. A. Laubereau

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Correspondence to H. Iglev.

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Iglev, H., Schmeisser, M., Simeonidis, K. et al. Ultrafast superheating and melting of bulk ice. Nature 439, 183–186 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04415

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  • Received: 11 May 2005

  • Accepted: 03 November 2005

  • Issue Date: 12 January 2006

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature04415