Ice nine is a fictitious polymorphic modification of water described by the writer Kurt Vonnegut in the novel “ Cradle for a Cat, ” which is more heat-resistant than ordinary ice [1] .
Content
Features
It melts at a temperature of 114.4 ° F (~ 45.8 ° C ), and when in contact with colder liquid water, it behaves as a crystallization center for the water in contact with it, which quickly hardens and also turns into ice-nine. Thus, once in any body of water that somehow communicates with the World Ocean (through streams , swamps , rivers , underground sources, etc.), ice nine could cause crystallization of most of the water on Earth and subsequently the death of life on the planet .
In the book
As a result of the accident, ice nine still falls into the oceans, and it turns into ice nine.
History
While working at General Electric, Vonnegut learned that Irving Langmuir , who worked there earlier, came up with the idea of stable ice at room temperature in the early 1930s in the hope that Herbert Wells , who visited the company, would be inspired to tell about this, but they did not publish anything [ 2] . It was noted that it was also inspired by the work of Bernard Vonnegut on dispersing clouds with silver iodide [3] .
When Vonnegut was writing a novel, only eight crystalline modifications of ice were known. It has now been established that there are 16 modifications of ice , including real ice IX , which has other properties than in the novel.
Mentioned in other works of art
“Ice-9” is mentioned in the movie “ Recruit ” as a prototype idea for creating a computer virus of the same name, capable of spreading through electric wires and paralyzing the entire power supply system in the country.
Also, "ice-9" ( ice-9 ) is mentioned in the last season of the series " In sight ", as a computer virus designed to defeat the Samaritan system.
See also
- Witch jelly
- Watering
- Prions
- Gray mucus
- Strapelka
Notes
- ↑ Stephen Jay Gould, Ice-Nine, Russian Style // New York Times, 30 August 1981
- ↑ Liberko, Charles A. Using Science Fiction To Teach Thermodynamics: Vonnegut, Ice-nine, and Global Warming (English) // Journal of Chemical Education : journal. - 2004. - Vol. 81 , no. 4 . - P. 509 . - DOI : 10.1021 / ed081p509 .
- ↑ Oleg Makarov. Clash of the Clouds: Cloud Acceleration . Popular mechanics (May 2009). Date of treatment February 28, 2013. Archived July 8, 2012.
Literature
- McGinnis, Wayne D. The source and implications of the ice-nine in Kurt Vonnegut's 'Cat's Cradle.' // American Notes & Queries. - 1974. - November ( t. 13 , issue 3 ). - S. 40 .
Links
- Becky Ferreira Ice-Nine and Unobtainium: Why We Dream Up Wonder Materials , Vice.com (March 13, 2015). Date of appeal May 15, 2015.