![a rare form of ice at the center of a cool new discovery about how water droplets freeze](https://utterbuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/a-rare-form-of-ice-at-the-center-of-a-cool-new-discovery-about-how-water-droplets-freeze-640x427.jpg)
Researchers explain a new mechanism for ice formation. Ice can form near the free surface of a water droplet via small precursors with a structure resembling ice 0. These are readily formed by negative pressure effects due to surface tension, creating ring-like structures with the same characteristics as ice 0, which act as seeds for nucleation, providing a mechanism for the bulk formation of ice.