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Mic asked in Science & MathematicsChemistry · 1 decade ago

Does Helium Ice float like water ice floats?

I'm curious... Im not a science guy at all but I was thinking about this. Helium is a gas and if cooled enough it becomes a liquid. If this it true, then if cooled further it should become a solid. Ice. Helium ice. Where would this ice form? On the top of the liquid helium (like ice does to water) or at the bottom of the container holding the liquid helium?

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  • Colin
    Lv 7
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    If it formed, and as it is compressible, it would presumably sink. But we're talking about 1 degree off absolute zero! See published data below:-

    Unlike any other element, helium will remain liquid down to absolute zero at normal pressures. This is a direct effect of quantum mechanics: specifically, the zero point energy of the system is too high to allow freezing. Solid helium requires a temperature of 1–1.5 K (about –272 °C or –457 °F) and about 25 bar (2.5 MPa) of pressure. It is often hard to distinguish solid from liquid helium since the refractive index of the two phases are nearly the same. The solid has a sharp melting point and has a crystalline structure, but it is highly compressible; applying pressure in a laboratory can decrease its volume by more than 30%. With a bulk modulus on the order of 50 MPa it is 50 times more compressible than water. Solid helium has a density of 0.214 ± 0.006 g/ml at 1.15 K and 66 atm; the projected density at 0 K and 25 bar (2.5 MPa) is 0.187 ± 0.009 g/ml.

    Source(s): rtc
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