Ice IX is a form of solid water stable at temperatures below 140 K and pressures between 200 and 400 MPa. It has a tetragonal crystal lattice and a density of 1.16 g/cm³, 26% higher than ordinary ice. It is formed by cooling ice III from 208 K to 165 K (rapidly—to avoid forming ice II). Its structure is identical to ice III other than being proton-ordered.
Ordinary water ice is known as ice Ih in the Bridgman nomenclature. Different types of ice, from ice II to ice XV, have been created in the laboratory at different temperatures and pressures.
[edit] In fiction
Ice-nine is a fictional material conceived by writer Kurt Vonnegut in his 1963 novel Cat's Cradle. It is different from, and does not have the same properties as, the real-world ice polymorph Ice IX -- existing, for instance, as a stable solid at room temperature and regular atmospheric pressure.
A substance called ice-9 is referred to in the Nintendo DS game 999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors. It seems to be a reference to the Vonnegut substance, not the real thing.
[edit] In music
The song "Ice 9" appears on Joe Satriani's album Surfing with the Alien. The song's title is a reference to the material found in Vonnegut's novel.
[edit] See also
- Ice for other crystalline forms of ice
[edit] References
[edit] External links
