"Space ice" contains tiny crystals and is not a completely disordered material like liquid water, as previously assumed, according to a new study by scientists at UCL (University College London) and the University of Cambridge.
Usually, ice floats on water: the density is lower than water (0.916 g/cm³, the crystalline structure of ice makes each molecule take up more volume), so the volume of some mass of ice is larger than its original water mass would have, so a fraction sticks out of the surface.
But this amorphous type of ice would not stick out of the water.
Usually, ice floats on water: the density is lower than water (0.916 g/cm³, the crystalline structure of ice makes each molecule take up more volume), so the volume of some mass of ice is larger than its original water mass would have, so a fraction sticks out of the surface.
But this amorphous type of ice would not stick out of the water.