How do the volatile ices in the mantle of Uranus and Neptune exist under immense internal pressure and temperature?
Answer
They behave more like superheated, dense fluids than brittle solids.
The term 'ice' in the context of Uranus and Neptune's interiors is used broadly to describe volatile compounds like water, methane, and ammonia. However, these substances are not frozen solid in the conventional sense. Due to the crushing internal pressures and extreme temperatures within the planetary mantles, these materials transition into exotic, dense fluid states. They possess properties that make them behave more like highly compressed, superheated liquids than the rigid, brittle solids one might associate with ice on Earth's surface.
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