Page 4 - Fire Ice News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Well, this is what they are. a thousand feet or more beneath the ocean's surface, molecules of water freeze like little cages, like those in red around each molecule of methane creating this slush called fire ice. why do they call it that? look. you can set this ablaze. the gas burns as the ice melts and releases it. that is the culprit that is stopping up this funnel from stopping this leak in the bottom of the ocean. >> so i understand they've considered using a smaller dome. how would that be any better? >> an interesting question. the reason it would be better perhaps, the researcher tells...

Tom joins us to explain it and the next plans to contain it. >> remember this is happening in a very deep, dark and cold place. well below freezing, depending on how you look it a. so tiny crystals of ice and gas called methane hydrite have been rising all along. here's what happened. when the dome was dropped this teeny crystals started clinging to each other and the sides of the dome inside and gradually, they built up so much that they clogged the entire nozzle here so that the oil could not be funneled out to the surface. the question that you would ask is, what are they? well, this is wha...

And releases it. that is the culprit that is stopping up this funnel from stopping this leak in the bottom of the ocean. >> so i understand they've considered using a smaller dome. how would that be any better? >> an interesting question. the reason it would be better perhaps, the researcher tells me, it might allow them to focus a heat sources around here to prevent those crystals from clogging the spout. but fire ice is a tricky thing. vast beds of this stuff on the ocean floor can become highly volatile if either the pressure or the temperature equation is upset. reverting to pure gas all a...

>> remember this is happening in a very deep, dark and cold place. well below freezing, depending on how you look it a. so tiny crystals of ice and gas called methane hydrite have been rising all along. here's what happened. when the dome was dropped this teeny crystals started clinging to each other and the sides of the dome inside and gradually, they built up so much that they clogged the entire nozzle here so that the oil could not be funneled out to the surface. the question that you would ask is, what are they? well, this is what they are. a thousand feet or more beneath the ocean's surfa...

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