Glass sponges with an ethanol thirst. (liquid research)

Glass sponges with an ethanol thirst

Many aspects of liquid behavior, even after decades of study, remain poorly understood, and current research continues to produce surprises. David D. Awschalom and his colleagues at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., have been investigating the properties of liquids confined to networks of microscopic, cigar-shaped pores in glass blocks. Their results show that a confined liquid can be cooled as much as 30 percent below its normal bulk freezing point without freezing. At the same time, sound waves…