Amorphous carbonia, also called a-carbonia or a-CO₂, is an exotic amorphous solid form of carbon dioxide that is analogous to amorphous silica glass. It was first made in the laboratory in 2006 by subjecting dry ice to high pressures (40-50 gigapascal, or 400,000 to 500,000 atmospheres). Carbon dioxide is an atmospheric gas comprised of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. ... The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is the oxide of silicon, chemical formula SiO2. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Dry ice is a genericized trademark for solid (frozen) carbon dioxide. ... The gigapascal, symbol GPa is an SI unit of pressure. ... Saturns atmosphere is made up of hydorgen, helium and methane ...

While normally carbon dioxide forms molecular crystals, where individual molecules are bound by Van der Waals forces, in amorphous carbonia a covalently bound three-dimensional network of atoms is formed, in a structure analogous to silicon dioxide or germanium dioxide glass. In chemistry, the term van der Waals force originally referred to all forms of intermolecular forces; however, in modern usage it tends to refer to intermolecular forces that deal with forces due to the polarization of molecules. ... Covalently bonded hydrogen and carbon in a molecule of methane. ... R-phrases R42 R43 R49 S-phrases S22 S36 S37 S45 S53 Flash point non-flammable Supplementary data page Structure and properties n, εr, etc. ...

Mixtures of a-carbonia and a-silica may be a prospective very hard and stiff glass material stable at room temperature. Such glass may serve as protective coatings for eg. microelectronics. The chemical compound silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is the oxide of silicon, chemical formula SiO2. ...

The discovery has implications for astrophysics, as interiors of big planets may contain solid carbon dioxide. Spiral Galaxy ESO 269-57 // Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that deals with the physics of the universe, including the physical properties (luminosity, density, temperature and chemical composition) of astronomical objects such as stars, galaxies, and the interstellar medium, as well as their interactions. ...

References

• Paul F. McMillan. Solid-state chemistry: A glass of carbon dioxide. Nature, Volume 441 Number 7095, p823. doi:10.1038/441823a
• Mario Santoro, Federico A. Gorelli, Roberto Bini, Giancarlo Ruocco, Sandro Scandolo, Wilson A. Crichton, Amorphous silica-like carbon dioxide, Nature, 441, 857 (2006)

External links

• Dry ice creates toughened glass
• Physicsweb: Dry ice forms ultrahard glass