Science Alert October 20, 2022
By bringing pure water into contact with an alloy of sodium and potassium researchers in Czech Republic converted pure water metallic. They extruded a small blob of sodium-potassium alloy, which is liquid at room temperature, from a nozzle and added a thin film of pure water using vapor deposition. Upon contact, the electrons and metal cations flowed into the water from the alloy. Not only did this give the water a golden shine, but it also turned the water conductive. They confirmed this using optical reflection spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Their study not only showed that metallic water can indeed be produced on Earth, but also characterized the spectroscopic properties associated with its metallic luster. Video …read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Electrons from a droplet of sodium and potassium diffuse onto a thin layer of water, turning it golden and giving it metallic properties. Crédit: Philip E. Mason