When ice is bent it can generate incredible electrical energy.

(Dan Tri) - This discovery not only helps to decode one of the oldest mysteries about lightning but also opens up the potential for applying electronic technology in the coldest environments on Earth.

A groundbreaking study just published in the journal Nature Physics has revealed a surprising secret about ice: when bent, ordinary ice has the ability to generate an electric charge.

This discovery not only sheds light on the mechanism of lightning formation, but also opens up the potential for developing new ice-based technologies in the most extreme environments.

Scientists from the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Technology (ICN2), Xi'an Jiaotong University, and Stony Brook University have demonstrated that the tape possesses flexoelectric properties.

This means that ice can generate an electrical charge under uneven mechanical stress, such as bending or twisting. This previously overlooked property could be key to understanding how lightning forms and inspire groundbreaking technological applications.

Scientists know that ice can generate electricity but are unsure of the exact mechanism (Photo: Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotechnologia).

While piezoelectricity requires a material with a special crystal structure to generate electric charge when compressed uniformly (such as quartz), conventional tape (Ih tape) does not have this property.

The flexoelectric effect, however, operates on a different principle. When a material is bent, the stress is no longer uniform; one side is in compression and the other side is in tension.

This non-uniform stress gradient can polarize the material through a flexoelectric phenomenon. Importantly, this effect does not require a neat atomic arrangement and can occur in any material, including ice.

To test it, the team fabricated “ice capacitors” – thin sheets of pure ice sandwiched between metal electrodes and bent using a mechanical device.

The results showed that measurable electric charge appeared at all temperatures tested, from -130°C to the melting point of ice. The discovery provides a possible explanation for one of the weather's greatest mysteries: the formation of lightning in clouds.

Scientists have long known that the electrical charges in clouds originate from collisions between ice crystals and soft hailstones (graupel). When these particles collide, they bend and deform.

The resulting stress gradient can trigger flexoelectric polarization, creating an electric field and attracting charges to the collision site. As the particles separate, one retains more electrons and the other less, resulting in charge separation and the creation of the enormous electric field required for lightning.

In addition to shedding light on natural phenomena, these findings open up incredible possibilities in the field of technology. The strength of the tape’s flexoelectric effect is on par with that of titanium dioxide and strontium titanate – two ceramic materials widely used in capacitors and sensors.

This opens up the possibility of using the ice itself as an active component in low-cost, temporary electronic devices designed to operate in harsh environments such as polar or high-altitude regions.

“This discovery could pave the way for the development of new electronic devices using ice as the active material, which can be fabricated directly in cold environments,” said ICREA Professor Gustau Catalán, head of the Oxide Nanophysics group at ICN2.

Could sensors embedded in glaciers or energy-harvesting surfaces on frozen satellites become a reality? This is a promising question for the future.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/khi-bang-bi-uon-cong-co-the-tao-ra-nang-luong-dien-dang-kinh-ngac-20250915023834600.htm