Synchrotron X-Rays Reveal How Ice Flows

34 EE January 1988 SYNCHROTRON X-RAYS REVEAL HOW ICE FLOWS by Dr Robert Whitworth, Department of Physics, Birmingham University Ice covers a great deal of the Earth"s surface. Understanding the way it flows is important for many practical purposes such as exploiting oil reserves and helping the engineer in an ice-bound environment. An ice physics group at Birmingham University is employing a powerful research tool, the synchrotron source of X-radiation at the UK Science and Engineering Research Council"s Daresbury Laboratory, to reveal detail of the flow mechanism of ice in a way not previously possible. Ice has been found to be an especially suitable material for study by this means and the group"s findings promise to yield new insights into crystalline materials. Everyday experience tells us that pieces of ice are brittle. Yet glaciers, large masses of ice, flow down the sides of mountains. In the polar regions huge sheets of ice flow out towards the oceans. The significance of ...