Video: Supercooled Water

In this video clip, Yang Zhang PhD '10 demonstrates supercooled water, a key aspect of this research. An ordinary bottle of spring water was kept in the freezer overnight. Because it was kept still, the water reached a temperature well below the freezing point, but the water didn't freeze because it had no nucleation centers — such as ice crystals, bubbles or ripples — to start the freezing process. Then, when the bottle is subjected to a sudden impact, the shock wave causes almost all of the water to freeze instantly.

Video: Yang Zhang