Amorphous ice and liquid states of water

All students and staff welcome.

Speaker 

Katrin Amann-Winkel, Max-Planck Institute for Polymer research & Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany

Abstract  

Water is ubiquitous and the most important liquid for life on earth. Various macroscopic properties of water are most anomalous, such as the density maximum at 4°C or the divergence of the heat capacity upon cooling. The fundamental origin of these anomalies is yet to be fully understood. Computer-simulations suggest the anomalous behaviour of ambient and supercooled water to be explained by a two-state model of water. An important role in this ongoing debate plays the amorphous forms of water. X-ray scattering experiments on both supercooled water and amorphous ice are of major importance for our understanding of water. State of the art X-ray techniques allow studying water-dynamics over several orders of timescale. In my talk I will give an overview about recent experiments, including pump-probe experiments on amorphous ice at X-ray free electron lasers.

Refreshments

Meet us at 16.30 outside the Elm lecture theatre in the Nucleus Building for tea and cakes prior to the talk.