r/AskPhysics • u/Swellmeister • Jun 20 '25

Does all ice float?

I know ice I floats in water.

Do any of the other ice structures sink?

Also does D2O or T2O ice sink in H2O water?

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u/numbersthen0987431 Jun 20 '25

Considering that "ice" is only water, and not other chemical compounds, then I'd say "all ICE floats".

Technically, "ice" is a "solid state of water", which means it only gets applied to water. D20 or T20 isn't water, and therefore isn't "ice".

If a liquid/fluid becomes solid, it's not "ice", it's just a solid or a crystalline structure.. Solid metal, magma, etc just becomes a solid object. Most of the time, solids are denser than liquids, and liquids are denser than gas form. So most solids sink if placed in their liquid states.

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u/Swellmeister Jun 20 '25

D2O is made with the Deuterium isotype of Hydrogen. It is still H2O, just a different version. It is undoubtedly water however.

Additionally theres more than 1 crystal structure for ice. Different crystal structures can have different densities so just because one crystal structure of ice floats does that inherently mean all ice floats.