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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Phys.org [phys.org]:

The low-energy structure of a water octamer is predicted to be nominally cubic, with eight tri-coordinated water molecules at the eight corners of the cube. Such tri-coordinated water molecules have been identified at the surface of ice.

Only a few gas-phase studies have been achieved for experimental characterization of water octamer, and two nearly isoenergetic structures with D2d and S4 symmetry are found.

This understanding now has changed. A research team led by Prof. Jiang Ling and Prof. Yang Xueming from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Prof. Li Jun from Tsinghua University, revealed the coexistence of five cubic isomers in the smallest ice cube, including two with chirality.

The discovery could lead to colder glasses of whiskey.

Original Submission