Science Alert July 9, 2021
An international team of researchers (USA – UC Berkeley, China) used tungsten needle in a ultracold chamber around -50 deg C into which water vapor was released and applied an electric field. Water molecules were attracted to the tip of the needle, where they crystallized, forming a microfiber with a maximum width of around 10 micrometers. When the temperature was lowered to between minus 70 and minus150 degrees Celsius they were able to bend. At minus 150 degrees Celsius, the microfiber 4.4 micrometers across was able to bend into a nearly circular shape, with a radius of 20 micrometers. This suggests a maximum elastic strain of 10.9 percent. When the ice was released, it sprang back into its previous shape. As a waveguide it transmitted multiple wavelengths as effectively as state-of-the-art on-chip waveguides such as silicon nitride and silica, suggesting that ice microfibers could be used as flexible waveguides for optical wavelengths at low temperatures…read more. Video TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ